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Josh Billings
(21 Apr 1818 - 14 Oct 1885)
American humorist , which is the pen name of pen name of Henry Wheeler Shaw. Through newspaper pieces, books, and comic lectures, he delivered his philosophical comments. His rustic aphorisms were written with misspellings, poor grammar, and questionable logic.
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Science Quotes by Josh Billings (16 quotes)
~~[Attributed]~~ As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.
— Josh Billings
As given, without citation, in Clifton Fadiman (ed.) The American Treasury, 1455-1955 (1955). Other sources give a title of a book of his, but despite many hours of searching, Webmaster has been unable to locate, in any of his various books, a specific page containing the subject quote. Nor anything resembling it. Hence it is annotated here as merely, “Attributed.” In other sources, any book title listed should be considered questionable. Can you help? [Note: the subject quote is shown above in plain English. Search is complicated because the author always wrote with pseudo folksy spellings. For example, if in a printed book, it might begin, “Az skarse az truth iz…,” or some variation thereof.
Common sense is the favorite daughter of Reason, and altho thare are menny other wimmin more attraktive for a time, thare is nothing but death kan rob common sense ov her buty.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 214.
Common sense iz instinkt, and instinkt don’t make enny blunders mutch, no more than a rat duz, in coming out, or going intew a hole, he hits the hole the fust time, and just fills it.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Common sense iz like biled vittles, it is good right from the pot, and it is good nex day warmed up.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Common sense kan be improved upon by edukashun—genius kan be too, sum, but not much.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Education is a good thing generally, but most folks educate their prejudices.
— Josh Billings
Collected in Everybody’s Friend, or Josh Billing’s Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor (1874), 592. Quote restated in standard English above, from the original, “Edukashun iz a good thing generally, but most pholks eddukate their prejudices.”
Edukashun gauls genius like a bad setting harness.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Everything on this earth iz bought and sold, except air and water, and they would be if a kind Creator had not made the supply too grate for the demand.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 277.
Genius iz always in advance ov the times, and makes sum magnificent hits, but the world owes most ov its tributes to good hoss sense.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Good hard-pan sense iz the thing that will wash well, wear well, iron out without wrinkling, and take starch without kracking.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 78.
Good, old-fashioned common sense iz one ov the hardest things in the world to out-wit, out-argy, or beat in enny way, it iz az honest az a loaf ov good domestik bread, alwus in tune, either hot from the oven or 8 days old.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 78.
If every man waz a genius, mankind would be az bad oph az the heavens would be, with every star a comet, things would git hurt badly, and noboddy tew blame.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 79.
Menny people are limiting after uncommon sense, but they never find it a good deal; uncommon sense iz ov the nature of genius, and all genius iz the gift of God, and kant be had, like hens eggs, for the hunting.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 78.
There is nothing that haz bin diskovered yet, that iz so skarse as good Hoss sense, about 28 hoss power.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 78.
There iz this difference between genius and common sense in a fox: Common sense iz governed bi circumstances, but circumstances iz governed by genius.
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 116.
Wit, without sense, iz like a razor without a handle
— Josh Billings
In The Complete Works of Josh Billings (1876), 219.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
