“A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”
-Mark Twain
We are all sinners, liars, and cheats. Admitting it is the only hope we have that we’ll not always be sinners, liars, and cheats.
On Telling the Truth
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Category Archives: Mark Twain Quotes
On Finding a True Wealth of Knowledge
“I would rather have my ignorance than another man’s knowledge, because I have got so much more of it.”
-Mark Twain
All we can be sure of is our own ignorance – knowing that we don’t know. An abundance of known ignorance is better than a paucity of knowledge.
On Reality and Having an Active Inner Life
“Life does not consist mainly – or even largely – of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one’s head”
-Mark Twain
Still waters run deep. The life of the mind is life itself.
On the Transience of Fame and the Myth of Glory
“It is a pathetic thought. We struggle, we rise, we tower in the zenith a brief and gorgeous moment, with the adoring eyes of the nations upon us, then the lights go out, oblivion closes around us, our glory fades and vanishes, a few generations drift by, and naught remains but a mystery and a name.”
-Mark Twain
What does it really mean, when we pass into inevitable oblivion, to possess fame or claim glory? Fame vanishes and glory dies in the press of our own ego.
It is nothing but what we leave behind that is important in the end. Best to consider what that might be while it is still in our power, lest we be caught with nothing at all to show for it
On Town Hall Meetings
“The thug is aware that loudness convinces sixty persons where reasoning convinces but one.”
-Mark Twain
But those sixty people are convinced of an argument upon which there is no basis in reason – the thug makes a fool of his followers and a mockery of rational thought.
On Why Racism is Silly
“I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed I know it. I can stand any society. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being–that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse.”
-Mark Twain
The point isn’t if you’re white, black, a jew, muslim, easterner, westerner, northerner, southerner, atheist, theist, liberal, or conservative. You’re human, and worthy of suspicion. I’m human too.
On How to Spot a Pessimist
“Pessimist: the optimist who didn’t arrive”
-Mark Twain
Just showing up requires a level of optimism that the true pessimist is unwilling to give.
On Pride’s Downfall
“Human pride is not worth while; there is always something lying in wait to take the wind out of it”
-Mark Twain, Following the Equator
Pride is a tricky thing. It can be a fine thing, too, like pride for work, family, community, and the accomplishments of others.
But pride only for the sake of itself, without humility, is sure to be humiliated. Best to carry the humility with you from the start.
On Timing
“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one”
-Mark Twain
The difference between a million dollar idea and the worthless boasts of a crank is like the difference between a great joke and a terrible one -timing.
On Blowing Smoke
“It is a talent by itself to pay compliments gracefully and have them ring true. It is an art in itself.”
– Mark Twain, speech, “The Lost Lotos Club”
You da’ man… No you da’ man…