Mark Twain

Necessity is the mother of taking chances.

I do not like work even when someone else does it.

To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man’s character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours.

There are two types of speakers, those that are nervous and those that are liars.

There are times when one would like to hang the whole human race, and finish the farce.

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

The triumphs of peace have been in some proximity to war. Whilst the hand was still familiar with the sword-hilt, whilst the habits of the camp were still visible in the port and complexion of the gentleman, his intellectual power culminated; the compression and tension of these stern conditions is a training for the finest and softest arts, and can rarely be compensated in tranquil times, except by some analogous vigor drawn from occupations as hardy as war.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

A great man stands on God. A small man on a great man.

There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

This self-love is the instrument of our preservation; it resembles the provision for the perpetuity of mankind: it is necessary, it is dear to us, it gives us pleasure, and we must conceal it.

Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.

Good fame is like fire; when you have kindled you may easily preserve it; but if you extinguish it, you will not easily kindle it again.

Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late.

Men are what their mothers made them.

Hostesses who entertain much must make up their parties as ministers make up their cabinets, on grounds other than personal liking.

Failure is success if we learn from it.

Rest in reason; move in passion.

Doing as others told me, I was blind. Coming when others called me, I was lost. Then I left everyone, myself as well. Then I found myself, myself as well.