---
title: "1 Samuel Butler Quotes By Philip Larkin"
description: "1 Samuel Butler quotes by Philip Larkin. Plus more from Philip Larkin and more Samuel Butler sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/philip-larkin-1822_samuel-butler_he-samuel-butler-made-a-practise-of-doin_2787889.jpg"
---

> [ “He \[Samuel Butler\] made a practise of doing the forks last when washing up, on the grounds that he might die before he got to them. This is very much his principle of 'eating the grapes downwards', so that however… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/he-samuel-butler-made-a-practise-of-doing-the-forks-last-when-washing/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/philip-larkin-1822_samuel-butler_he-samuel-butler-made-a-practise-of-doin_2787889.jpg)

## More by Philip Larkin

> [Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/deprivation-is-for-me-what-daffodils-were-for-wordsworth/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [Only one ship is seeking us, a black-Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her backA huge and birdless silence. In her wakeNo waters breed or break.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/only-one-ship-is-seeking-us-a-black-sailed-unfamiliar-towing-at-her/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [And immediately Rather than words comes the thought of high windows: The sun-comprehending glass, And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows Nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/and-immediately-rather-than-words-comes-the-thought-of-high-windows/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“Living toys are something novel, But it soon wears off somehow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/living-toys-are-something-novel-but-it-soon-wears-off-somehow/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“Once I am sure there's nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/once-i-am-sure-there-s-nothing-going-on-i-step-inside-letting-the/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [Life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes, And leaves what something hidden from us chose, age, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/life-is-first-boredom-then-fear-whether-or-not-we-use-it-it-goes-and/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“It never worked for me. Something to do with violence A long way back, and wrong rewards, And arrogant eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-never-worked-for-me-something-to-do-with-violence-a-long-way-back/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [Seriously, I think it is a grave fault in life that so much time is wasted in social matters, because it not only takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/seriously-i-think-it-is-a-grave-fault-in-life-that-so-much-time-is/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [So many things I had thought forgotten Return to my mind with stranger pain: Like letters that arrive addressed to someone Who left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/so-many-things-i-had-thought-forgotten-return-to-my-mind-with/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“One of the quainter quirks of life is that we shall never know who dies on the same day as we do ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/one-of-the-quainter-quirks-of-life-is-that-we-shall-never-know-who/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“I sit in my room like Miss Havisham, about whom I have been reading this week. Better the Dickens you know than the Dickens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-sit-in-my-room-like-miss-havisham-about-whom-i-have-been-reading/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“When I throw back my head and howl People (women mostly) say But you've always done what you want, You always get your way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/when-i-throw-back-my-head-and-howl-people-women-mostly-say-but-you-ve/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for-that-matter-should-try-to/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [But superstition, like belief, must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/but-superstition-like-belief-must-die/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [“Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/side-by-side-their-faces-blurred-the-earl-and-countess-lie-in-stone/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

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