Quotes by Twain, Mark




Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a famous and popular American humorist, novelist, writer and lecturer..

"Warm summer sun, shine kindly here. Warm southern wind, blow softly here. Green sod above, lie light, lie light. Good night, dear Heart, Good night, good night."

Twain, Mark on nature
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"Necessity is the mother of taking chances."

Twain, Mark on necessity
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"Obscurity and competence: That is the life that is worth living."

Twain, Mark on obscurity
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"The banging and slamming and booming and crashing were something beyond belief. [On Lohengrin]"

Twain, Mark on opera    Share

"It is difference of opinion that makes horse races."

Twain, Mark on opinions    Share

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

Twain, Mark on opinions
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"Public opinion is held in reverence. It settles everything. Some think it is the voice of God."

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

Twain, Mark on optimism
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"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
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"The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."

Twain, Mark on originality    Share

"Do not undervalue the headache. While it is at its sharpest it seems a bad investment; but when relief begins, the unexpired remainder is worth $4 a minute."

Twain, Mark on pain
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"My parents were neither very poor nor conspicuously honest."

Twain, Mark on parents and parenting    Share

"The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit."

Twain, Mark on perseverance
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"There is nothing sadder than a young pessimist."

Twain, Mark on pessimism    Share

"Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerve give to wisdom."

Twain, Mark on pessimism    Share

"If He Tom Sawyer had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do and Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do."

Twain, Mark on philosophers and philosophy    Share

"If they had not landed there would be some reason for celebrating the fact."

Twain, Mark on pilgrims    Share

"Pity is for living, envy is for dead."

Twain, Mark on pity    Share

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

Twain, Mark on plagiarism
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"War talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting; whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull."

Twain, Mark on poetry and poets    Share

"The cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred on me. However, few escape that distinction."

Twain, Mark on war    Share

"A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty."

Twain, Mark on babies    Share

"We have not all had the good fortune to be ladies. We have not all been generals, or poets, or statesmen; but when the toast works down to the babies, we stand on common ground."

Twain, Mark on babies    Share

"A banker is a fellow who lends his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain."

Twain, Mark on bankers and banking
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"In statesmanship get the formalities right, never mind about the moralities."

Twain, Mark on politics    Share

"Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can."

Twain, Mark on politics    Share

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

Twain, Mark on politics
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"By common consent of all the nations and all the ages the most valuable thing in this world is the homage of men, whether deserved or undeserved."

Twain, Mark on popularity    Share

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

Twain, Mark on popularity
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"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."

Twain, Mark on prayer
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"More than once I had seen a noble who had gotten his enemy at a disadvantage stop to pray before cutting his throat."

Twain, Mark on prayer
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"You can't pray a lie."

Twain, Mark on prayer
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"Few sinners are saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon."

Twain, Mark on preachers and preaching
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"To do something, say something, see something, before anybody else -- these are things that confer a pleasure compared with which other pleasures are tame and commonplace, other ecstasies cheap and trivial."

Twain, Mark on precedents    Share

"I find that principles have no real force except when one is well fed."

Twain, Mark on principles    Share

"Prosperity is the best protector of principle."

Twain, Mark on principles    Share

"Principles aren't of much account anyway, except at election time. After that you hang them up to let them season."

Twain, Mark on principles    Share

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