Mark Twain Quotes

The man who is a pessimist before forty-eight knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little.

Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.

Perseverance is a principle that should be commendable in those who have judgment to govern it.

By his father he is English, by his mother he is American – to my mind the blend which makes the perfect man.

Always do right! This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

People are different. And it is the best way.

None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try.

An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war.

My kind of loyalty was to one’s country, not to it’s institutions or to its office holders. 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.

The Gospel of the Monarchical Patriotism is: “The King can do no wrong.” We have adopted it with all its servility, with an unimportant change in the wording: “Our Country, right or wrong!”