Mark Twain Blog » Mark Twain Biography http://marktwainblog.org Mark Twain - An American Philosopher : His Words in Today's Context Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:24:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 On Keeping an Open Mind and Freeing a Human Soul http://marktwainblog.org/on-keeping-an-open-mind-and-freeing-a-human-soul/ http://marktwainblog.org/on-keeping-an-open-mind-and-freeing-a-human-soul/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:51:25 +0000 History Blog Project http://marktwainblog.org/?p=271 “Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world – and never will.”
-Mark Twain

Freedom begins with keeping an open mind.

]]> http://marktwainblog.org/on-keeping-an-open-mind-and-freeing-a-human-soul/feed/ 0 On Accepting Compliments and Liking It http://marktwainblog.org/on-accepting-compliments-and-liking-it/ http://marktwainblog.org/on-accepting-compliments-and-liking-it/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:29:51 +0000 History Blog Project http://marktwainblog.org/2008/02/04/on-accepting-compliments-and-liking-it/ Mark Twain knows how to accept compliments“I do not make any pretense that I dislike compliments. The stronger the better and I can manage to digest them.”
-Mark Twain, speech, “The Last Lotos Club”

Do go on.

Really, though, enough about me…

How was I?

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]]> http://marktwainblog.org/on-accepting-compliments-and-liking-it/feed/ 0 On University Degrees http://marktwainblog.org/on-university-degrees/ http://marktwainblog.org/on-university-degrees/#comments Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:43:36 +0000 History Blog Project http://marktwainblog.org/2007/09/24/on-university-degrees/ “Now then, to me university degrees are unearned finds, and they bring the joy that belongs with property acquired in that way; and the money-finds and the degree-finds are just the same in number up to date–three: two from Yale and one from Missouri University.

It pleased me beyond measure when Yale made me a Master of Arts, because I didn’t know anything about art; I had another convulsion of pleasure when Yale made me a Doctor of Literature, because I was not competent to doctor anybody’s literature but my own, and couldn’t even keep my own in a healthy condition without my wife’s help. I rejoiced again when Missouri University made me a Doctor of Laws, because it was all clear profit, I not knowing anything about laws except how to evade them and not get caught.

And now at Oxford I am to be made a Doctor of Letters–all clear profit, because what I don’t know about letters would make me a mutli-millionaire if I could turn it into cash.”
Mark Twain, Autobiography

It shouldn’t be the degree that really matters, but, if the degree holder has really learned anything, what it represents.

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