"History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme a lot"

Twain, Mark on history
5 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on trials
4 fans of this quote   

"We like a man to come right out and say what he thinks, if we agree with him."

Twain, Mark on thoughts and thinking   

"It is easier to stay out than get out."

Twain, Mark on temptation
3 fans of this quote   

"A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read."

Twain, Mark on books - reading
5 fans of this quote   

"Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to."

Twain, Mark on blush
3 fans of this quote   

"There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy."

Twain, Mark on biography
6 fans of this quote   

"There's always something about your success that displeases even your best friends."

Twain, Mark on success
4 fans of this quote   

"If you have nothing to say, say nothing."

Twain, Mark on speakers and speaking
6 fans of this quote   

"It is a good idea to obey all the rules when you're young just so you'll have the strength to break them when you're old."

Twain, Mark on rules
8 fans of this quote   

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits."

Twain, Mark on reform
5 fans of this quote   

"He liked to like people, therefore people liked him."

Twain, Mark on popularity
6 fans of this quote   

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

Twain, Mark on politics
7 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on plagiarism
3 fans of this quote   

"The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little."

Twain, Mark on optimism
5 fans of this quote   

"There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist."

Twain, Mark on optimism
4 fans of this quote   

"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it."

Twain, Mark on truth
5 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on truth
3 fans of this quote   

"Be virtuous and you will be eccentric."

Twain, Mark on virtue
3 fans of this quote   

This quotation can be viewed in the context of a book

"On with dance, let joy be unconfined, is my motto; whether there's any dance to dance or any joy to unconfined."

Twain, Mark on dance and dancing
4 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on war
3 fans of this quote   

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

Twain, Mark on courage
8 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on compliments   

"I have been complimented many times and they always embarrass me; I always feel that they have not said enough."

Twain, Mark on compliments   

"Noise proves nothing, Often a hen who has laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid."

Twain, Mark on complaints and complaining
5 fans of this quote   

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell -- you see, I have friends in both places."

Twain, Mark on commitment
5 fans of this quote   

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Twain, Mark on action
234 fans of this quote   

"Never do wrong when people are looking."

Twain, Mark on wrong
5 fans of this quote   

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

Twain, Mark on world
8 fans of this quote   

"Thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does the work."

Twain, Mark on work
4 fans of this quote   

"I do not like work even when someone else does it."

Twain, Mark on work
4 fans of this quote   

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

Twain, Mark on words
10 fans of this quote   

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."

Twain, Mark on weather
3 fans of this quote   

"If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes."

Twain, Mark on weather
3 fans of this quote   

"The lack of money is the root of all evils."

Twain, Mark on money   

"If you are speaking the truth you don't have to remember anything."

Twain, Mark on memory
5 fans of this quote   

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old."

Twain, Mark on age and aging
9 fans of this quote   

"Let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all."

Twain, Mark on age and aging
6 fans of this quote   

"Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered -- either by themselves or by others."

Twain, Mark on genius
22 fans of this quote   

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. The conviction of the rich that the poor are happier is no more foolish than the conviction of the poor that the rich are."

Twain, Mark on friends and friendship
22 fans of this quote