“But so engrained in the human heart is the desire to believe that some people really do know what they say they know, and can thus save them from the trouble of thinking for themselves, that in a short time would-be philosophers and faddists became more powerful than ever, and gradually led their countrymen to accept all those absurd views of life.”
Source: Erewhon (1872), Ch. 27
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Samuel Butler 232
novelist 1835–1902Related quotes

“To know what people really think, pay attention to what they do, rather than what they say.”

The Pathway of Life: Teaching Love and Wisdom (posthumous), Part I, International Book Publishing Company, New York, 1919, p. 68

http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06012002.htm

Addressing fans at Three Rivers Stadium on Roberto Clemente Day, as quoted in "Bear-ly Speaking: World's Greatest Fans Thanked by Clemente" http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/15703260/ by Sam 'Bear' Bechtel, in The Indiana Gazette (July 25, 1970)
Other, <big><big>1970s</big></big>, <big>1970</big>
Source: The Animal Welfare Movement and the Foundations of Ethics, pp. 94-95