Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyerand its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the latter often called "The Great American Novel"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth30 November 1835
CountryUnited States of America
arrogance books drinks everybody geniuses great water wine
My books are water; those of great geniuses are wine everybody drinks water
age genius youth
Genius has no youth, but starts with the ripeness of age and old experience.
humor laughing genius
The true and lasting genius of humour does not drag you thus to boxes labelled 'pathos,' 'humour,' and show you all the mechanism of the inimitable puppets that are going to perform. How I used to laugh at Simon Tapperwit, and the Wellers, and a host more! But I can't do it now somehow; and time, it seems to me, is the true test of humour. It must be antiseptic.
differences focus genius
It is impossible that a genius - at least a literary genius - can ever be discovered by his intimates; they are so close to him that he is out of focus to them and they can't get at his proportions; they can't perceive that there is any considerable difference between his bulk and their own.
genius hunger handmaids
Hunger is the handmaid of genius
precious-stones gold genius
Genius, like gold and precious stones, is chiefly prized because of its rarity.
death die either geniuses themselves thousands
Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered -- either by themselves or by others.
complaint complaints-and-complaining compliment courteous gentle ought precede resentment
I think a compliment ought to always precede a complaint, where one is possible, because it softens resentment and insures for the complaint a courteous and gentle reception.
awake refrain rule smoke
It has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain when awake
number remember
It isn't so astonishing the number of things that I can remember, as the number of things that I can remember that aren't so.
complete failure judgment life likely lived secret
It is not likely that any complete life has ever been lived which was not a failure in the secret judgment of the person that lived it
appearance last since sister stated ugliest visited week wish withdraw woman
Last week I stated that this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister and now wish to withdraw that statement.
fact past restored solitary worth
I said there was but one solitary thing about the past worth remembering and that was the fact that it is past - and can't be restored
benefit ourselves whose
We do no benevolences whose first benefit is not for ourselves