Quotes & anectdotes from the wise, the foolish, the courageous & the drunk

Mark Twain Novelist

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Nov 30, 1835
  • Died: Apr 21, 1910

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the latter often called "the Great American Novel".

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which provided the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. After an apprenticeship with a printer, he worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his singular lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1865, his humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, and was even translated into classic Greek. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. being good

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. being good & life

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. business & being good

When people do not respect us we are sharply offended yet in his private heart no man much respects himself. respect

Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed. politics

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress but I repeat myself. politics

Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks. business & being good

What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. life

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. death, fear, life & time

Prosperity is the best protector of principle. best

Humor must not professedly teach and it must not professedly preach, but it must do both if it would live forever. humor

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. being funny

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense. truth

Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it. government

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. health

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. education & God

A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape. time

Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough. New Year's Day

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. education

It is not best that we should all think alike it is a difference of opinion that makes horse races. best

Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain't so. truth

What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before. being good

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up. intelligence

Man - a creature made at the end of the week's work when God was tired. God & work

A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation. communication

I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. greatness

Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person. being good

I've never let my school interfere with my education. education

Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run. education

We have the best government that money can buy. best, government & money

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. business & time

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't. truth

Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it. best & money

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. work

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. education

The Christian's Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes. medical

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. success

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. aging

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing. humor

To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence. life & success

Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it. truth

The finest clothing made is a person's own skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this. society

Golf is a good walk spoiled. being good & sports

When in doubt tell the truth. truth

There are people who can do all fine and heroic things but one - keep from telling their happiness to the unhappy. happiness

Thunder is good, thunder is impressive but it is lightning that does the work. being good & work

Work is a necessary evil to be avoided. work

Don't let schooling interfere with your education. education

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. best

Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about. patriotism

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. courage & fear

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. being funny

By trying we can easily endure adversity. Another man's, I mean. being funny

The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow there is no humor in Heaven. humor

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. imagination

Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense. truth

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. experience

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities Truth isn't. truth

I never let schooling interfere with my education. education

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. truth

Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. food, life & success

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. motivation

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. aging

It's good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. being good & sports

Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one. greatness

Man was made at the end of the week's work when God was tired. God & work

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. death

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. anger

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. government, Memorial Day, patriotism & time

When angry, count to four when very angry, swear. anger

All generalizations are false, including this one. being funny

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice. being good

My books are like water those of the great geniuses are wine. (Fortunately) everybody drinks water. greatness

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure. success

Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms. hope

When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained. life

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. life

The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice. history

The lack of money is the root of all evil. money

Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet. God

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. greatness & motherhood

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. forgiveness

I have made it a rule never to smoke more that one cigar at a time. time

Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned. education

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. death

Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain. death & fear

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. being good

I can live for two months on a good compliment. being good

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. society

Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. time

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. health

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare. courage

Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven. humor

When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain. love

To be good is noble but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble. being good

God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board. God

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. aging & life

Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation. marriage

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