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
action fine happiness heroic people telling unhappy
There are people who can do all fine and heroic things but one: keep from telling their happiness to the unhappy
found hate people surer travel whether
I have found out there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them
imbeciles mean people putting run smart whether wonder
Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.
aggressive assert dare majority minority presence savage secretly shrink vast whether
The vast majority of the race, whether savage or civilized, are secretly kind-hearted and shrink from inflicting pain, but in the presence of the aggressive and pitiless minority they don't dare to assert themselves.
anyone arrogance great meet meeting ordeal prepared whether
I am prepared to meet anyone, but whether anyone is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
distort facts
Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
balls good lost pick rolling
It's good sportsmanship not to pick up lost balls while they are still rolling
editor excellent meddle needs perfect political serve shall term
I shall not often meddle with politics, because we have a political Editor who is already excellent and only needs to serve a term or two in the penitentiary to be perfect
lies-and-lying standard washington
I am different from Washington. I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won't.
cure faith strong
Any mummery will cure if the patient's faith is strong in it.
banker begins fellow lends minute rain shining sun umbrella wants
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain
american-author creature god man work
Man - a creature made at the end of the week's work when God was tired.
beings deserve dishonor human
Human beings feel dishonor the most, sometimes, when they most deserve it
develops love thwarted
Love is a madness; if thwarted it develops fast.