Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was one of America's most famous literary icons. He was also a great humorist, a well-known American writer, a successful entrepreneur, an outstanding lecturer, and a publisher. May these famous Mark Twain quotes about life give you insights that will inspire and help you achieve a better life.
1. “Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain
2. “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” – Mark Twain
3. “One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.” – Mark Twain
4. “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.” – Mark Twain
5. “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain
6. “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
7. “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” – Mark Twain
8. “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
9. “If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.” – Mark Twain
10. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” – Mark Twain
11. “The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
12. “It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain
13. “Write without pay until somebody offers to pay you. If nobody offers within three years, sawing wood is what you were intended for.” – Mark Twain
14. “When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old.” – Mark Twain
15. “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
16. “Let us be thankful for the fools. Because of them the rest of us could not succeed.” – Mark Twain
17. “Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain
18. “Plan for the future because that's where you are going to spend the rest of your life.” – Mark Twain
19. “A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” – Mark Twain
20. “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” – Mark Twain
21. “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” – Mark Twain
22. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” – Mark Twain
23. “When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.” – Mark Twain
24. “Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” – Mark Twain
25. “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
26. “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” – Mark Twain
27. “The two most important days in your life are, the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
28. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” – Mark Twain
29. “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain
30. “ Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
More Quotes by Mark Twain
31. “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 rather not.” – Mark Twain
32. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
33. “Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.” – Mark Twain
34. “To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with” – Mark Twain
35. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
36. “It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others—and less trouble.” – Mark Twain
37. “There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” – Mark Twain
38. “A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.” – Mark Twain
39. “There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man’s notion that he is less savage than the other savages.” – Mark Twain
40. “Man is the only animal that blushes or needs to.” – Mark Twain
41. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.” – Mark Twain
42. “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.” – Mark Twain
43. “Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.” – Mark Twain
44. “The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.” – Mark Twain
45. “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” – Mark Twain
46. “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” – Mark Twain
47. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” – Mark Twain
48. “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain
49. “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.” – Mark Twain
50. “Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” – Mark Twain
51. “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” – Mark Twain
52. “Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary.” – Mark Twain
53. “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” – Mark Twain
54. “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” – Mark Twain
55. “A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.” – Mark Twain
56. “Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.” – Mark Twain
57. “It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.” – Mark Twain
58. “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” – Mark Twain
59. “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” – Mark Twain
60. “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” – Mark Twain
61. “Loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain
62. “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain
63. “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” – Mark Twain
64. “Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” – Mark Twain
65. “What do we call love, hate, charity, revenge, humanity, forgiveness? Different results of the master impulse, the necessity of securing one's self-approval.” – Mark Twain
66. “Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.” – Mark Twain
67. “Laughter without a tinge of philosophy is but a sneeze of humor. Genuine humor is replete with wisdom.” – Mark Twain
68. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” – Mark Twain
69. “No real gentleman will tell the naked truth in the presence of ladies.” – Mark Twain
70. “Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.” – Mark Twain
Share these Quotes from Mark Twain with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
1. “Great people are those who make others feel that they, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain
2. “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” – Mark Twain
3. “One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives.” – Mark Twain
4. “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.” – Mark Twain
5. “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain
6. “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
7. “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” – Mark Twain
8. “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
9. “If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.” – Mark Twain
10. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” – Mark Twain
11. “The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
12. “It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain
13. “Write without pay until somebody offers to pay you. If nobody offers within three years, sawing wood is what you were intended for.” – Mark Twain
14. “When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it's a sure sign you're getting old.” – Mark Twain
15. “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
16. “Let us be thankful for the fools. Because of them the rest of us could not succeed.” – Mark Twain
17. “Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain
18. “Plan for the future because that's where you are going to spend the rest of your life.” – Mark Twain
19. “A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.” – Mark Twain
20. “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” – Mark Twain
21. “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” – Mark Twain
22. “When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” – Mark Twain
23. “When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.” – Mark Twain
24. “Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” – Mark Twain
25. “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain
26. “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” – Mark Twain
27. “The two most important days in your life are, the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
28. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” – Mark Twain
29. “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain
30. “ Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain
More Quotes by Mark Twain
31. “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 rather not.” – Mark Twain
32. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
33. “Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.” – Mark Twain
34. “To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with” – Mark Twain
35. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
36. “It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others—and less trouble.” – Mark Twain
37. “There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” – Mark Twain
38. “A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.” – Mark Twain
39. “There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man’s notion that he is less savage than the other savages.” – Mark Twain
40. “Man is the only animal that blushes or needs to.” – Mark Twain
41. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.” – Mark Twain
42. “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.” – Mark Twain
43. “Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.” – Mark Twain
44. “The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.” – Mark Twain
45. “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” – Mark Twain
46. “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” – Mark Twain
47. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” – Mark Twain
48. “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain
49. “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.” – Mark Twain
50. “Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” – Mark Twain
51. “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” – Mark Twain
52. “Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary.” – Mark Twain
53. “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” – Mark Twain
54. “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” – Mark Twain
55. “A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.” – Mark Twain
56. “Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.” – Mark Twain
57. “It takes your enemy and your friend, working together, to hurt you to the heart: the one to slander you and the other to get the news to you.” – Mark Twain
58. “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” – Mark Twain
59. “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” – Mark Twain
60. “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” – Mark Twain
61. “Loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain
62. “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain
63. “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” – Mark Twain
64. “Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” – Mark Twain
65. “What do we call love, hate, charity, revenge, humanity, forgiveness? Different results of the master impulse, the necessity of securing one's self-approval.” – Mark Twain
66. “Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.” – Mark Twain
67. “Laughter without a tinge of philosophy is but a sneeze of humor. Genuine humor is replete with wisdom.” – Mark Twain
68. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” – Mark Twain
69. “No real gentleman will tell the naked truth in the presence of ladies.” – Mark Twain
70. “Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.” – Mark Twain
Share these Quotes from Mark Twain with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.