100 Great Mark Twain Quotes About Life

Mark Twain Quotes

Last Updated on April 9, 2023 by Team FinderWheel

Mark Twain, born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is one of the most famous American authors of all time. His humor and satire, combined with his social commentary, have made him a beloved figure to generations of readers. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most popular and insightful quotes from this great writer.

Who Was Mark Twain?

Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, and grew up in a small river town in the state. He was a printer’s apprentice, a steamboat pilot, a Confederate soldier, and a gold miner, before becoming a writer and lecturer. His first big success as a writer was “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, which was published in 1865. He went on to write some of the most well-known works of American literature, including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

Why Are Mark Twain’s Quotes So Memorable?

Mark Twain’s quotes are memorable because they are funny, insightful, and often quite poignant. They offer a unique perspective on life, love, and the world, and they are often quoted because they resonate with people on a deep level. Whether you’re looking for a good laugh, a wise saying, or a thought-provoking statement, you’re sure to find something that speaks to you among Mark Twain’s quotes.

A Collection of the Best Mark Twain Quotes

Here are some of the most popular and enduring quotes from Mark Twain on life, love, human nature, society, and education.

  1. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
  2. Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.
  3. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).
  4. The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
  5. Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.
  6. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
  7. ′Classic′ – a book which people praise and don’t read.
  8. The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
  9. A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
  10. Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.
  11. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
  12. In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.
  13. Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
  14. 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.
  15. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
  16. I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
  17. God created war so that Americans would learn geography.
  18. I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.
  19. But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?
  20. Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.
  21. The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
  22. Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.
  23. Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.
  24. Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.
  25. I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.
  26. Books are for people who wish they were somewhere else.
  27. What would men be without women? Scarce, sir…mighty scarce.
  28. Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.
  29. Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
  30. Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
  31. If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.
  32. When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
  33. Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other.
  34. You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
  35. The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.
  36. If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.
  37. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.
  38. Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.
  39. Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
  40. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
  41. I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.
  42. Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
  43. The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.
  44. Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.
  45. The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.
  46. The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
  47. The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.
  48. All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
  49. Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
  50. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
  51. A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.
  52. A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.
  53. If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.
  54. April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.
  55. Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
  56. Out of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.
  57. I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.
  58. When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.
  59. I must have a prodigious amount of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up!
  60. Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary.
  61. I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.
  62. The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
  63. Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.
  64. To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.
  65. The most interesting information come from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
  66. Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
  67. When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.
  68. After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.
  69. It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.

Conclusion of Mark Twain’s Quotes

In conclusion, Mark Twain’s quotes are a testament to his wit, wisdom, and insight. They offer a unique perspective on life, love, and the world, and they continue to be widely quoted and revered to this