Mark Twain

There is no distinctly American criminal class – except Congress.

We Americans… bear the ark of liberties of the world.

To succeed in life, you need to things: ignorance and confidence.

If to be interesting is to be uncommonplace, it is becoming a question, with me, if there are any commonplace people.

We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change place with an easy and blessed facility, and we are soon wonted to the change and happy in it.

Plain question and plain answer make the shortest road out of most perplexities.

There are three books my daughter felt were the most important influences in her life: the Bible, her mother’s cookbook, and her father’s checkbook.

The valley stream’s rushing sound is the eloquent tongue of Buddha. The mountain’s vibrant colours are nothing but the Buddha’s form.

Outside the kingdom of the Lord there is no nation which is greater than any other. God and history will remember your judgment.

Music brought me closer to the idea of God.

I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.

If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart.

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

[on enlightenment] Body and mind dropped off.

What was never lost can never be found.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

What is a soul? It’s like electricity – we don’t really know what it is, but it’s a force that can light a room.

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Not only higher forms of life but also many of the smallest insects are social beings who, without any religion, law or education, survive by mutual cooperation based on an innate recognition of their interconnectedness.

You’re just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.

In the end, only three things matter: How much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.