Things and Purses

Everything is like a purse—there may be money in it, and we can generally

say by the feel of it whether there is or is not. Sometimes, however, we

must turn it inside out before we can be quite sure whether there is

anything in it or no. When I have turned a proposition inside out, put

it to stand on its head, and shaken it, I have often been surprised to

find how much came out of it.

The Note-Books of Samuel Butler · 第 365 / 602 题