Luck Or Cunning?

Luck or Cunning? is a satirical novel written by Samuel Butler, first published in 1886. The book follows the story of Thomas Loveday, a young man who, after being orphaned at a young age, is taken in by his wealthy uncle. Thomas is sent to Oxford University, where he becomes involved in a number of misadventures, including gambling and falling in love with a married woman.As Thomas navigates his way through the various social circles of Oxford, he begins to question the role that luck and cunning play in determining one’s success in life. He becomes increasingly disillusioned with the privileged world he has entered, and begins to see the flaws in the values and beliefs of the upper classes.The novel is a biting satire of Victorian society, poking fun at the hypocrisy and self-importance of the upper classes. It also explores themes of morality, social class, and the nature of success. Butler’s writing is witty and engaging, and the novel is a compelling read for anyone interested in Victorian literature or social satire.In brief, there is nothing in life of which there are not germs, and, so to speak, harmonics in death, and nothing in death of which germs and harmonics may not be found in life. Each emphasizes what the other passes over most lightly--each carries to its extreme conceivable development that which in the other is only sketched in by a faint suggestion--but neither has any feature rigorously special to itself. Granted that death is a greater new departure in an organism’s life, than any since that congeries of births and deaths to which the name embryonic stages is commonly given, still it is a new departure of the same essential character as any other-- that is to say, though there be much new there is much, not to say more, old along with it. We shrink from it as from any other change to the unknown, and also perhaps from an instinctive sense that the fear of death is a sine qua non for physical and moral progress, but the fear is like all else in life, a substantial thing which, if its foundations be dug about, is found to rest on a superstitious basis.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.