--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Prayers are to men as dolls are to…" description: "\"Prayers are to men as dolls are to children.\" — Samuel Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/samuel-butler-823_children_prayers-are-to-men-as-dolls-are-to-child_767345.jpg" --- # Prayers are to men as dolls are to children. ![“Prayers are to men as dolls are to children.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/samuel-butler-823_children_prayers-are-to-men-as-dolls-are-to-child_767345.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/samuel-butler-823_children_prayers-are-to-men-as-dolls-are-to-child_767345.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67b/samuel-butler-823_children_prayers-are-to-men-as-dolls-are-to-child_767345.jpg) > “Prayers are to men as dolls are to children.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Butler likens prayers to children's dolls, suggesting they are simplistic comforts for adults. **In simple terms:** Prayers are simple comforts for adults, like dolls for children. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of ritual comfort. Themes religion comfort skepticism Mood contemplative skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal meditation - spiritual counseling - literary analysis Key Concepts symbolism faith psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you view prayer as meaningful or childish? - How do rituals shape adult coping? A Different Perspective May dismiss genuine spiritual experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) [Dolls Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls-children-4023146/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-dolls-4023145/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers/) [Prayers Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers-men-1752608/) ## Related quotes > [Prayers are to men as dolls are to children. They are not without use and comfort, but it is not easy to take them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/prayers-are-to-men-as-dolls-are-to-children-they-are-not-without-use/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“We are all of us denying or fulfilling prayers – and men in their careless deeds walk amidst invisible outstretched arms and pleadings made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-are-all-of-us-denying-or-fulfilling-prayers-and-men-in-their/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Here is the life of prayer, when in or with the Spirit, a man being made sensible of sin, and how to come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/here-is-the-life-of-prayer-when-in-or-with-the-spirit-a-man-being/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-the-gods-listened-to-the-prayers-of-men-all-humankind-would/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [“If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-the-gods-listened-to-the-prayers-of-men-all-men-would-quickly-have/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/tonight-i-ask-for-your-prayers-for-all-those-who-grieve-for-the/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I value the kind of prayer when you stand at the edge of the sea, or beneath a tree, or smell a flower, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/i-value-the-kind-of-prayer-when-you-stand-at-the-edge-of-the-sea-or/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Sometimes it is best for men not to attempt to interfere with destiny. Our prayers can be answered in ways which we do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/sometimes-it-is-best-for-men-not-to-attempt-to-interfere-with-destiny/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [“Why is it every time a madman's prayers are answered, a witch burns?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-danielle-dorn/why-is-it-every-time-a-madman-s-prayers-are-answered-a-witch-burns/) [J. Danielle Dorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-danielle-dorn/) > [“Anything else, Your Majesty?" "I didn't say my prayers." "I'll say them for you. Our father who art in et cetera, bless all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-osborne/anything-else-your-majesty-i-didn-t-say-my-prayers-i-ll-say-them-for/) [Maggie Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-osborne/) > [Heavenly Father hears your prayers, He loves you. He knows your name. He loves you beyond your ability to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/heavenly-father-hears-your-prayers-he-loves-you-he-knows-your-name-he/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [“God will not cooperate with prayers of mere self-interest, or prayers that come from impure motives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders-2/god-will-not-cooperate-with-prayers-of-mere-self-interest-or-prayers/) [J Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders-2/) > [“the best answers to prayers are the ones God doesn’t answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-jones-gunn/the-best-answers-to-prayers-are-the-ones-god-doesn-t-answer/) [Robin Jones Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-jones-gunn/) > [“All the miles, all the hours, watching, waiting, hunting, pretending. God had heard his prayers and brought him to this moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/all-the-miles-all-the-hours-watching-waiting-hunting-pretending-god/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) > [The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-fact-that-the-lord-can-work-and-act-even-with-insufficient-means/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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