Skip to content

The watch must have had a maker — that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers - who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer, who comprehended its construction and designed its use.

— William Paley Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802)

Another quote →

Topics

Life

More quotes by William Paley

It is a step to have it proved, that there must be something in the world more than what we see. It is a further step to know, that, amongst the invisible things of nature, there must be an intelligent mind, concerned in its production, order, and support.

Natural Theology (1802)

I have seldom known any one who deserted truth in trifles that could be trusted in matters of importance.

Wanton, and, what is worse, studied cruelty to brutes, is certainly wrong.

The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785)

A large part of Christian virtue consists in right habits.

God, when he created the human species, wished their happiness; and made for them the provision which he has made, with that view, and for that purpose.

The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785)

All William Paley quotes →

You may also like

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell Marriage and Morals (1929)

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)

Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:
Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true.

Richard Francis Burton The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1870)

It is the law of life that if you are kind to someone you feel happy. If you are cruel you are unhappy. And if you hurt someone, you will be hurt back.

Cary Grant Love – That’s All Cary Grant Ever Thinks About (1964)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Paley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.