Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) was an American humorist and author. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is one of his famous novels.
Before he became a writer, Twain worked as a printer. He became very popular after publishing “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” a short humorous story. He was also very successful as a public speaker. Twain was a good friend to many influential people of his time (artists, presidents, European royalty and industrialists).
Mark Twain Quotes
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it cost nothing to be a patriot.— Mark Twain, Notebook, 1904
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.— Mark Twain
My body is my own, at least I have always so regarded it. If I do harm … it is I who suffers, not the state.— Mark Twain
Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak.— Mark Twain
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.— Mark Twain, Notebook, 1887
No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.— Mark Twain
That’s the difference between governments and individuals. Governments don’t care, individuals do.— Mark Twain
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.— Mark Twain, A.B. Paine’s Mark Twain: A Biography (Harper, 1912, Vol. 2, page 724).
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.— Mark Twain
There is no distinctly native American criminal class – save Congress.— Mark Twain
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.— Mark Twain
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.— Mark Twain
Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world – and never will.— Mark Twain
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.— Mark Twain
My kind of loyalty was to one’s country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death.— Mark Twain