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
world digging banquets
A banquet is probably the most fatiguing thing in the world except ditch digging.
lying able historian
A historian who would convey the truth has got to lie. Often he must enlarge the truth by diameters, otherwise his reader would not be able to see it.
taken wish sin
Adam was the author of sin, and I wish he had taken out an international copyright on it.
beautiful credit foundation
Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society.
one-direction reform overboard
Every time I reform in one direction I go overboard in another.
promise enterprise
Great enterprises usually promise vastly more than they perform.
evil half good-intentions
Half of the results of a good intentions are evil; half the results of an evil intention are good.
criticism way my-way
I like criticism, but it must be my way.
men brotherhood-of-man impressed
In all my travels the thing that has impressed me the most is the universal brotherhood of man-what there is of it.
writing inconvenience
In writing, I shall always confine myself strictly to the truth, except when it is attended with inconvenience.
lying may waste
Never waste a lie; you never know when you may need it.
heart men color
One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike, no matter what their skin color.
pain giving conscience
Our consciences take no notice of pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point where it gives pain to us.
land people challenges
Ours is the "land of the free"-nobody denies that-nobody challenges it. (Maybe it is because we won't let other people testify.)