I think everyone has read something out of "The adventures of Tom Sawyer", be it a part of our literature books in school or some excerpts of the book in movies and theaters.
Written by the father of American literature, Mark Twain, the book contains many life lessons, hidden in somewhat autobiographical narratives, and is referred to as the foundation stone of American literature.
Mark Twain's work was marked by sharp wit and humor, also encompassing values of life at times and that is what intrigued the readers so much.
The writings of Mark Twain teach and entertain concurrently, thus Mark Twain's quotes can serve as tenets to abide by for life.
To make it easier for you, here are some selected Mark Twain quotes to teach you about love, life, politics, education, and whatnot!
1. Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
This Mark Twain quote says that age is just a number. Your age doesn't restrict you, your mind does. Open your mind to explore the endless pool of possibilities before you.
2. The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.
Just mindless reading won't suffice! Education is of no use if it's not put to good use. An idle and ignorant mind is as bad as an uneducated one.
3. Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
Travelling opens our eyes to new things and lets us out of the bubble we live in, fascinating us. It introduces us to wonders which appear as magic to us, outside our own little world.
4. Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.
This Mark Twain quote points to living a content and calm life, letting go of grudges, and being happy. Hatred will only eat us up from inside.
5. Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.
Procrastination never pays, it just delays.
6. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
This Mark Twain quote illustrates the importance of bringing change for good and breaking the stereotypes.
Learning and evolving are the pillars of growth. Entertaining the thoughts that you do not agree with is the biggest sign of intelligence.
7. Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.
Why waste your time and energy on those who either don't matter or won't understand.
8. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.
Don't let people around you bring you down. Those who do, are either cowards or fools.
9. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
You need to make things happen for yourself. Your actions are your choice and for your good.
10. Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
This very sarcastic Mark Twain quote gives the same meaning to being an idiot and being a politician.
11. Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.
This Mark Twain quote on love teaches the importance of judgment of our self-worth and upholding our self-respect.
12. I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.
Not knowing something should not be a shame. Aren't we all learning every day? It's as legit an answer as there can be.
13. Loyalty to country, ALWAYS. Loyalty to the government, when it deserves it.
Mark Twain was known for his patriotism and this is a classic example. The government is there to serve the country and its citizens.
14. Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.
Old age should not be a burden. It must showcase the amazing experiences you've had, not halt the ones you want.
15. What would men be without women? Scarce, sir...mighty scarce.
Feminism often found a spot in Twain's writings or speeches. Without motherly love and wifelike affection, a man's existence is nearly worthless
16. Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
Your dreams and ambitions keep you alive. They birth your humor and your ideas. They keep you busy, give you your aspirations and compel you to move forward.
17. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
This quote portrays the importance of exposure. You need to get out, roam, and get lost to learn. You need to see and experience to broaden the horizon of your brain.
18. If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.
Oh, the dilemma of ignorance and deception. It's a tough choice but a little collective effort of society can do the deed.
19. 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 a man.
The sub-standards of mankind is a theme you'll find very often in Mark Twain's quotes. Man's disloyalty and selfishness are very clearly shown in this quote.
20. Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other.
Doing the right thing takes courage and many times is very difficult for us, but it pays off by benefiting some and astonishing some.
21. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
Not being afraid of anything is foolishness and it will drive you to death. Courage will make you immortal.
22. The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.
Worthy companionship, as vital it is for survival, is as scarce as a mined jewel.
23. Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Penicillin. Chocolate Chip Cookies. Safety pin. Necessities of today are accidents of yesterday.
24. The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.
Always acknowledge the possibility of you being wrong and someone else is right.
25. The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.
If you're not comfortable with yourself, even a thousand friends will be less. As each one of them will be some reason for envy and Hate.
26. Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Being the bigger person and letting it go is the hardest but the purest thing one can do. It is a better revenge than hurting those who hurt you, as it will make them realize they couldn't bring you to their level of pettiness.
27. To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.
This Mark Twain quote shows light upon the significance of companionship in one's life. You may achieve new heights every day, but it is bound to get lonely without someone to share the view with.
28. The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
A child's innocence is the sweetest and most angelic thing of all. It is unadulterated and carefree of all the pretensions and acts of the world.
29. Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
Another jeer at mankind by Mark Twain, depicting the purity of our animal friends and the sinful nature of man.
30. Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.
Learning from your mistakes is the key. It makes you self-aware and those around you self-conscious.
31. I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.
Most of us overthink in our day-to-day life. Most of it is irrational and just a product of our ever wondering minds. Worrying just fogs our mind, let your actions sort it out for you.
32. I have a higher and grander standard of principle than George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't.
If your good deeds are mere because of fear of judgment or pressure from society, then you are no more a good man than the one who did wrong nonetheless.
33. It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.
Your worth is decided by your work. Your work will speak for you. Your trophies are just an acknowledgment and if you are content at heart then they have no use.
34. Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does the work.
Yet again, your action is what becomes clear to worldly eyes. Your words will be heard and then discarded as a fictional story.
35. A half-truth is the most cowardly of lies.
Just telling your side of the story to be good in the eyes of a friend will always come back to you. And that will put you down more than accepting your mistake
36. Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.
Mark Twain was an epitome of wit and sarcasm and this one clearly demonstrates that. Being a radical, he had strong opinions about politics and was never afraid to speak his heart out.
37. When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.
Another beautiful love quote by Mark Twain. Love is not a game of minds but the understanding of hearts. Let the mind do what it is good at and let the heart fare for itself. It'll suffer but survive as well.
38. What is Man? Man is a noisome bacillus whom Our Heavenly created because he was disappointed in the monkey.
But only to find that man was even worse off than his ancestor.
39. The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to the other creatures, but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creatures that cannot.
Responsibility comes with power. The ability of a man to do wrong might as well be a curse, but his decision to do so is the real misfortune.
40. Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.
Practice, education, and training always lead to development. It refines and remolds us into a better version of ourselves.
41. He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Asking a question may attract laughs but at the end of the day, you are clear in your mind. While not asking questions will have you confused always and you'll be the butt of the joke every day.
42. When I am king they shall not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books, for a full belly is little worth where the mind is starved.
Just the fulfillment of biological needs will never be enough as until and unless the mind is full, there will never be peace.
43. When red-headed people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.
Even the ugliest (so-called) attributes of a person are glamorized after they attain a certain position or status. Beauty in today's world is not even about the outer appearance anymore, it's about your possessions.
44. Good judgment is the result of experience and the result of bad judgment.
The paradox of mistakes. A man evolves every day. It's part of an evergoing cycle.
45. In religion and politics, people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case second-hand, and without examination.
It's only preachings and teachings but hardly any thinking. People find it easier to absorb rather than develop.
46. Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul.
As long as your actions are good, words kind and deeds giving, your appearance would hardly be of notice to the wise. As for the fools, they aren't worthy of any attention.
47. I do not wish for any reward but to know I have done the right thing.
The inner satisfaction is more worthy than all of the materialistic rewards.
48. I wish I could make him understand that a loving good heart is rich enough and that without it intellect is poverty.
A sharp mind but a mean heart will never let a man fulfill his destiny.
49. They did not know it was impossible so they did it.
Constraints that are put onto us are just ways to restrict our growth. Not knowing the dark side can help overcome the impossible.
50. Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.
A Mark Twain quote to wake up to every day. Even in the little things, one can find solace and happiness.
51. Let us not be too particular. It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all.
Being too adamant and particular always leaves us discontent, because even the crown's jewels were stolen and the largest of kingdoms were annexed.
52. Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Loving your job and doing what you love can easily make half of your sorrows disappear.
53. Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.
This Mark Twain quote tells us to focus on our fish's eye and let others murmur, it'll all turn into cheer when we hit our target.
54. Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.
Perfection is a delusion and can never be achieved in a day. One day at a time is the key!
55. If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.
Ending with the best! This Mark Twain quote conveys disappointment in ulterior motives behind good deeds, because if that is the matter then mankind may be the shrewdest of all.
Writers are gifted humans meant to enlighten us and inspire us. Mark Twain was certainly a gifted one amongst us. How simply he could incorporate the entanglements of life in lines is something so fascinating.
These Mark Twain quotes sum up his outlook and thoughts and serve as an inspiration to even the most somber of us!
Do let us know your favorite from the above list of Mark Twain quotes. Also, like and share to inspire others as well.
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