Quotes from Mark Twain

However, like the rest of the world, I still go on underrating men of gold and glorifying men of mica. Commonplace human nature cannot rise above that.

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

A home without a cat —and a well-fed, well-petted, and properly revered cat —may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?

Look at the opportunities here for a man of knowledge, brains, pluck, and enterprise to sail in and grow up with the country. The grandest field that ever was; and all my own; not a competitor; not a man who wasn't a baby to me in acquirements and capacities; whereas, what would I amount to in the twentieth century? I should be foreman of a factory, that is about all; and could drag a seine downstreet any day and catch a hundred better men than myself.

Children and fools _always_ speak the truth. The deduction is plain --adults and wise persons _never_ speak it.

To live a fulfilled life, we need to keep creating the 'what is next' of our lives. Without dreams and goals, there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.

The two testaments are interesting, each in its own way. The old one gives us a picture of these people's deity as he was before he got religion, the other one gives us a picture of him as he appeared afterward.

In these were gathered together the brightest young minds I could find, and I kept agents out raking the country for more, all the time. I was training a crowd of ignorant folk into experts—experts in every sort of handiwork and scientific calling.

God Almighty made us all, and some He gives eyes that's blind, and some He gives eyes that can see, and I reckon it ain't none of our lookout what He done it for; it's all right, or He'd 'a' fixed it some other way.

The quality of mercy . . . is twice blessed; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes; 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. it becomes The thronèd monarch better than his crown. Merchant of Venice

Everybody lies--every day; every hour; awake; asleep; in his dreams; in his joy; in his mourning; if he keeps his tongue still, his hands, his feet, his eyes, his attitude, will convey deception--and purposely. Even in sermons--but that is a platitude.

Now and then a division-agent was really obliged to shoot a hostler through the head to teach him some simple matter that he could have taught him with a club if his circumstances and surroundings had been different. But they were snappy, able men, those division-agents, and when they tried to teach a subordinate anything, that subordinate generally got it through his head.