Famous Authors Mark Twain Quotes

Mark Twain Quotes

It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling. ~ Mark Twain

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

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~ Mark Twain

Mark Twain

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


I never smoke to excess – that is, I smoke in moderation, only one cigar at a time. ~ Mark Twain

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. ~ Mark Twain

Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work. ~ Mark Twain

A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read. ~ Mark Twain

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

A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation. ~ Mark Twain

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. ~ Mark Twain

Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it. ~ Mark Twain

Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing. ~ Mark Twain

Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. ~ Mark Twain

Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer. ~ Mark Twain

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. ~ Mark Twain

Everything has its limit – iron ore cannot be educated into gold. ~ Mark Twain

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. ~ Mark Twain

We have the best government that money can buy. ~ Mark Twain

Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. ~ Mark Twain

Golf is a good walk spoiled. ~ Mark Twain

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow. ~ Mark Twain

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. ~ Mark Twain

Laws control the lesser man… Right conduct controls the greater one. ~ Mark Twain

I can live for two months on a good compliment. ~ Mark Twain

If the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later. ~ Mark Twain

The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. ~ Mark Twain

Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul. ~ Mark Twain

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

What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin. ~ Mark Twain

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. ~ Mark Twain

A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar. ~ Mark Twain

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

The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop. ~ Mark Twain

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live. ~ Mark Twain

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. ~ Mark Twain

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

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. ~ Mark Twain

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written. ~ Mark Twain

Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid. ~ Mark Twain

When in doubt tell the truth. ~ Mark Twain

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist. ~ Mark Twain

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. ~ Mark Twain

I’ve never let my school interfere with my education. ~ Mark Twain

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

I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any. ~ Mark Twain

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. ~ Mark Twain

The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning. ~ Mark Twain

The more you explain it, the more I don’t understand it. ~ Mark Twain

Optimist: day dreamer more elegantly spelled. ~ Mark Twain

If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but deteriorate the cat. ~ Mark Twain

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

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice. ~ Mark Twain

There is no distinctly American criminal class – except Congress. ~ Mark Twain

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. ~ Mark Twain

I don’t like to commit myself about heaven and hell – you see, I have friends in both places. ~ Mark Twain

Let us endeavor so to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ~ Mark Twain

All right, then, I’ll go to hell. ~ Mark Twain

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

Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. ~ Mark Twain

Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person. ~ Mark Twain

I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. ~ Mark Twain

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish. ~ Mark Twain

Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial ‘we.’~ Mark Twain

Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late. ~ Mark Twain

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. ~ Mark Twain

Work is a necessary evil to be avoided. ~ Mark Twain

Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed. ~ Mark Twain

To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence. ~ Mark Twain

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. ~ Mark Twain

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. ~ Mark Twain

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

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. ~ Mark Twain

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. ~ Mark Twain

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~ Mark Twain

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. ~ Mark Twain

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. ~ Mark Twain

The lack of money is the root of all evil. ~ Mark Twain

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. ~ Mark Twain

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain

Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times. ~ Mark Twain

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. ~ Mark Twain

If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first. ~ Mark Twain

Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today. ~ Mark Twain

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. ~ Mark Twain

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

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded. ~ Mark Twain

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them. ~ Mark Twain

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself. ~ Mark Twain

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. ~ Mark Twain

In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. ~ Mark Twain

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. ~ Mark Twain

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. ~ Mark Twain

All generalizations are false, including this one. ~ Mark Twain

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. ~ Mark Twain

But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most? ~ Mark Twain

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

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. ~ Mark Twain

Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. ~ Mark Twain

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. ~ Mark Twain

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. ~ Mark Twain

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. ~ Mark Twain

It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense. ~ Mark Twain

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

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable. ~ Mark Twain

Honesty is the best policy – when there is money in it. ~ Mark Twain

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

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. ~ Mark Twain

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. ~ Mark Twain

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

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~ Mark Twain

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. ~ Mark Twain

Ideally a book would have no order to it, and the reader would have to discover his own. ~ Mark Twain

She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot. ~ Mark Twain

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

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

The trouble ain’t that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right. ~ Mark Twain

When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old. ~ Mark Twain

Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities. ~ Mark Twain

It is just like man’s vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. ~ Mark Twain

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

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often. ~ Mark Twain

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

Better a broken promise than none at all. ~ Mark Twain

Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved. ~ Mark Twain

Often it does seem such a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat. ~ Mark Twain

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

My books are like water; those of the great geniuses are wine. (Fortunately) everybody drinks water. ~ Mark Twain

The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner. ~ Mark Twain

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up. ~ Mark Twain

Familiarity breeds contempt – and children. ~ Mark Twain

To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble. ~ Mark Twain

We are all alike, on the inside. ~ Mark Twain

When red-haired people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn. ~ Mark Twain

‘Classic.’ A book which people praise and don’t read. ~ Mark Twain

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand. ~ Mark Twain

It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected. ~ Mark Twain

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. ~ Mark Twain

How lucky Adam was. He knew when he said a good thing, nobody had said it before. ~ Mark Twain

When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear. ~ Mark Twain

Don’t let schooling interfere with your education. ~ Mark Twain

There are lies, damned lies and statistics. ~ Mark Twain

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

Buy land, they’re not making it anymore. ~ Mark Twain

As an example to others, and not that I care for moderation myself, it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain from smoking when awake. ~ Mark Twain

It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them. ~ Mark Twain

Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain. ~ Mark Twain

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure. ~ Mark Twain

It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand. ~ Mark Twain

Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough. ~ Mark Twain

Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation. ~ Mark Twain

When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not. ~ Mark Twain

I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know. ~ Mark Twain

Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned. ~ Mark Twain

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

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~ Mark Twain

The more things are forbidden, the more popular they become. ~ Mark Twain

There are times when one would like to hang the whole human race, and finish the farce. ~ Mark Twain

One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives. ~ Mark Twain

Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense. ~ Mark Twain

Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when God was tired. ~ Mark Twain

Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain’t so. ~ Mark Twain

It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races. ~ Mark Twain

Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident. ~ Mark Twain

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered – either by themselves or by others. ~ Mark Twain

The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all. ~ Mark Twain

Few of us can stand prosperity. Another man’s, I mean. ~ Mark Twain

Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with. ~ Mark Twain

Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel. ~ Mark Twain

Lord save us all from old age and broken health and a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms. ~ Mark Twain

I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one. ~ Mark Twain

No sinner is ever saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon. ~ Mark Twain

The educated Southerner has no use for an ‘r’, except at the beginning of a word. ~ Mark Twain

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

George Washington, as a boy, was ignorant of the commonest accomplishments of youth. He could not even lie. ~ Mark Twain

The Public is merely a multiplied ‘me.’~ Mark Twain

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

The Christian’s Bible is a drug store. Its contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes. ~ Mark Twain

What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? They would be scarce, sir, almighty scarce. ~ Mark Twain

Man is the only animal that blushes – or needs to. ~ Mark Twain

Words are only painted fire; a look is the fire itself. ~ Mark Twain

The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane. ~ Mark Twain

Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it. ~ Mark Twain

By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean. ~ Mark Twain

It is easier to stay out than get out. ~ Mark Twain

Man will do many things to get himself loved, he will do all things to get himself envied. ~ Mark Twain

Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream. ~ Mark Twain

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

I make it a rule never to smoke while I’m sleeping. ~ Mark Twain

Necessity is the mother of taking chances. ~ Mark Twain

To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal. ~ Mark Twain

Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks. ~ Mark Twain

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~ Mark Twain

All emotion is involuntary when genuine. ~ Mark Twain

I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way. ~ Mark Twain

It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it. ~ Mark Twain

When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people. ~ Mark Twain

We Americans… bear the ark of liberties of the world. ~ Mark Twain

Prosperity is the best protector of principle. ~ Mark Twain

He is now rising from affluence to poverty. ~ Mark Twain

Martyrdom covers a multitude of sins. ~ Mark Twain

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

The wit knows that his place is at the tail of a procession. ~ Mark Twain

I never let schooling interfere with my education. ~ Mark Twain

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

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. ~ Mark Twain

The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow; there is no humor in Heaven. ~ Mark Twain

The main difference between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives. ~ Mark Twain

If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way. ~ Mark Twain

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t. ~ Mark Twain