The British author Samuel Butler's "The Note-Books of Samuel Butler" is a compilation of essays and aphorisms. The book offers Butler's thoughts on his surroundings and covers a broad variety of subjects, including literature, science, philosophy, and the arts. Butler makes insightful insights on everything from the value of Shakespeare's plays to the nature of human awareness in his work, which is known for its sharp humor. He also delves into more esoteric subjects like the essence of truth and the compatibility of science and religion. Butler's cynicism and irreverence are evident throughout the book as he questions accepted knowledge and makes fun of individuals in positions of authority. He is especially critical of the strict social mores and false morality of the Victorian age, which he lived in. Butler consistently exhibits great admiration for the beauty and intricacy of the natural world, as well as a conviction in the ability of literature and art to move people and inspire change, despite his pessimism. The Note-Books of Samuel Butler, a collection of essays that gives insights into the thinking of one of the most unique and intriguing thinkers of the Victorian era, is an overall thought-provoking and enjoyable collection of essays.
Butler was the grandson of Samuel Butler, the principal of Shrewsbury School and afterwards the bishop of Lichfield. He was the son of the Reverend Thomas Butler. The young Samuel transferred to St. John's College in Cambridge after spending six years at Shrewsbury, where he graduated in 1858. In order to prepare for holy orders, young Butler even went so far as to do a little "slumming" in a London parish because his father wanted him to become a clergyman. He was being pulled away from all his father stood for, including his family, the church, and Christianity itself—or at least what it had seemed to imply at Langar Rectory—by the current of his fierce independence and heresy. After an unpleasant incident with his father, Butler left Cambridge, the church, and his home and emigrated to New Zealand, where (using money provided by his father) he established a sheep run in the Canterbury settlement. Butler then returned to Cambridge and continued his musical studies and drawing. After doubling his money in New Zealand, Butler left for England in 1864 and moved into the Clifford's Inn apartment that would serve as his permanent residence. The Way of All Flesh, which was released in 1903, the year after Butler passed away, is widely regarded as his best work. It undoubtedly encompasses a lot of the essential elements of Butlerism.
