Mark Twain Quotes

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

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

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

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

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

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. — 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

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