Mark Twain was an American writer and humorist who is considered one of the greatest writers in American literature. He was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in Hannibal, Missouri. Twain’s writing career began in the 1860s and he quickly gained a reputation as a humorist and storyteller.
He wrote many books, including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and its sequel, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” which are considered American classics. Twain was also a popular public speaker and lectured on a variety of topics throughout the United States and Europe. He died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut.
Mark Twain Life Quotes
- “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”– Mark Twain
2. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”– Mark Twain
3. “‘Classic’–a book which people praise and don’t read.”– Mark Twain
4. “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”– Mark Twain
5. “The funniest things are forbidden.”– Mark Twain
6. “There are no people who are quite so vulgar as the over-refined.”– Mark Twain
7. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.”– Mark Twain
8. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”– Mark Twain
9. “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”– Mark Twain
10. “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”– Mark Twain
Mark Twain Love Quotes
- “Man will do many things to get himself loved; he will do all things to get himself envied.”– Mark Twain
2. “Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.”– Mark Twain
3. “Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.”– Mark Twain
4. “Love is not a product of reasonings and statistics. It just comes-none knows whence-and cannot explain itself.”– Mark Twain
5. “If you want love and abundance in your life, give it away.”– Mark Twain
6. “A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”– Mark Twain
7. “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then Success is sure.”– Mark Twain
8. “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d druther not.”– Mark Twain
9. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.”– Mark Twain
10. “Honesty is the best policy — when there is money in it.”– Mark Twain
Mark Twain Leadership Quotes
- “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”– Mark Twain
2. “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.”– Mark Twain
3. “The really great (people) make you feel that you, too, can become great.”– Mark Twain
4. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.”– Mark Twain
5. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”– Mark Twain
6. “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”– Mark Twain
7. “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”– Mark Twain
8. “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”– Mark Twain
9. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”– Mark Twain
10. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear.”– Mark Twain
Mark Twain Inspirational Quotes
11. “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
12. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
13. “To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”– Mark Twain
14. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear”– Mark Twain
15. “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain
16. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”– Mark Twain
17. “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” – Mark Twain
18. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
19. “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain
20. “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”– Mark Twain
21. “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” – Mark Twain
22. “A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.”– Mark Twain
Mark Twain Quotes About Relationships
- “Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.”– Mark Twain
2. “After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.”– Mark Twain
3. “Love is not a product of reasonings and statistics. It just comes–none knows whence–and cannot explain itself.”– Mark Twain
4. “The frankest and freest product of the human mind and heart is a love letter; the writer gets his limitless freedom of statement and expression from his sense that no stranger is going to see what he is writing.”– Mark Twain
5. “Love is a madness; if thwarted it develops fast.”– Mark Twain
6. “Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably And never regret anything That makes you smile.”– Mark Twain
7. “True love is the only heart disease that is best left to “run on”–the only affection of the heart for which there is no help, and none desired.”– Mark Twain
8. “Compliments make me vain: & when I am vain, I am insolent & overbearing. It is a pity, too, because I love compliments.”– Mark Twain
9. “Love is not a product of reasonings and statistics. It just comes-none knows whence-and cannot explain itself.”– Mark Twain
10. “When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.”– Mark Twain
11. “The course of free love never runs smooth. I suppose we have all tried it.”– Mark Twain
12. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.”– Mark Twain
Interesting Facts about Mark Twain
Here are some interesting facts about Mark Twain:
- Twain was born on November 30, 1835, as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri. He later adopted the pen name Mark Twain, which means “two fathoms deep,” a term used by riverboat pilots for safe water.
- Twain was a prolific writer and is best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both of which are set in his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri.
- Twain was a journalist, editor, and public speaker in addition to being a novelist. He traveled widely and lived in several different cities, including San Francisco, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut.
- Twain was an early adopter of the typewriter and used it to write many of his later works. He was also one of the first authors to use a dictation machine to write his books.
- Twain was a friend of presidents, artists, and industrialists, and was a popular speaker at social and cultural events. He was also a member of the New York City players’ club, the Players, which was founded by actor Edwin Booth.
- Twain was a member of the Masonic Order and was buried with full Masonic rites.
- Twain had a number of hobbies and interests, including billiards, poker, and smoking cigars. He was also a fan of technology and owned several early automobiles and a steam-powered yacht.
- Twain died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut. He is considered one of America’s greatest writers and his work continues to be popular and widely read today.
- Mark Twain was born when Halley’s comet blazed across the sky; he wrote “I came in with the Halley’s Comet in 1835 and it is coming again next year and I hope to go with it” and he did in 1910 as predicted.
15 Classic Mark Twain Books
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- The Prince and the Pauper
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
- “The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson”
- “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
- “The Innocents Abroad”
- “Roughing It”
- “Life on the Mississippi”
- “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”
- “The Mysterious Stranger”
- “A Tramp Abroad”
- “The Gilded Age”
- “Following the Equator”
- “Letters from the Earth”
