Mark Twain Quotes on Life, Travel, Politics, Education, Truth and Love

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.

Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to.

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions.

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.

Classic. A book which people praise and don’t read.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again - and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.

The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.

The Bible: It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.

There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.

Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won't fatten the dog.

All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.