Mark Twain

Why was the human race created? Or at least why wasn’t something creditable created in place of it? God had His opportunity. He could have made a reputation. But no, He must commit this grotesque folly – a lark which must have cost Him a regret or two when He came to think it over and observe effects.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

The newspaper that obstructs the law on a trivial pretext, for money’s sake, is a dangerous enemy to the public weal.That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse.

If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.

I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter’s evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream… I know how the nuts taken in conjunction with winter apples, cider, and doughnuts, make old people’s tales and old jokes sound fresh and crisp and enchanting.

Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.

Accept the past for what it was. Acknowledge the present for what it is. Anticipate the future for what it can become.

Shoot for the moon. If you miss you’ll still end up in the stars.

Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn’t want me to be too famous too young.

You must learn that you do not have to be angry just because you have the right to be.

You have to name it to claim it.

Don’t hurry, don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit. So be sure and smell the flowers.

All punishments by which the human body might be maimed are barbarbarism.

Instead of being ashamed of what you’ve been through, be proud of what you have overcome!

Do it! People who succeed don’t just sit and think about what they want to do. They take meaningful, purposeful, directional action consistently and persistently. Every step they take puts them toward the outcome they’re looking for.

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.

Do you wish people to think well of you? Don’t speak of yourself.

The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.

Youth should not be slandered. Boy nature and girl nature are less repressed and therefore more wholesome today than before. If they at times seem unimpressed by their elders, it is probably because we make a matter of authority what should be a matter of conference. These young people are new people sent to this scene by Destiny to take our places. They come with new visions to fulfill, new powers to exploit.