“Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises.”
Documented source
Every quote here is traced to a documented source. How we verify →
About this line
It’s a complete note on its own: one sentence, filed under “Life” in the first chapter. Two notes earlier sits “Life is one long process of getting tired.”
Butler never published his notebooks. He kept them most of his life, and from 1891 he spent an hour every morning re-editing them. His friend Henry Festing Jones published a selection in 1912, ten years after Butler died.
Why we carry this line
Jumping to conclusions is so easy. Getting proper information, instead of guesses and garbage, takes a bit more time. But it’s necessary. A good reminder.
The design
The connecting words are set small and quiet. “Sufficient conclusions” and “insufficient premises” stand out. The two letters that turn one into the other, “in,” are set apart in warm matte gold.
