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138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World

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You would be surprised how many people type in Mark Twain quotes in their Google search bar. The guy is still relevant, and his thoughts written over 100 years ago still strike a chord with many people today. Born in 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pseudonym of Mark Twain, remains one of the greatest novelists and humorists that America has ever produced. To this day, quotes by Mark Twain are repeated from memory by many worldwide. However, the author's intelligent quotes are far from the only thing he left behind. Nowadays praised as a civil rights activist, Twain has left a worldwide legacy that has continued since his death over 100 years ago.

Not only has Twain inspired the American literary canon, but he also influenced American culture, and the writer's quotes remain practical to this day. His written works challenged and brought to light the issues America faced in the nineteenth century, such as imperialism, racism, class barriers, access to education, and much more. Two of his perhaps best-known works, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, indirectly addressed the many problems of American culture. These novels are where many of Twain's popular quotes are derived from.

Twain was a brilliant person who had a curious mind and soul of a wanderer and traveled a lot throughout his life. Some folks even regard him as one of the greatest geniuses of all time. After all, there are not that many powerful quotes by famous people that seemingly make it to every other presentation or a public speech. Well, the quotes from Mark Twain do. Want to deliver a killer speech? Or get your creative juices flowing and activate 100 percent of your brain power? We've got you.

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#1

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

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#2

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."

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#3

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."

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#4

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."

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#5

"Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about."

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#6

"When red-haired people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn."

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#7

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."

24points

#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."

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#9

"A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read."

23points

#10

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense."

22points

#11

"Buy land, they're not making it anymore."

21points

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#12

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare."

21points

#13

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered - either by themselves or by others."

21points

#14

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."

19points

#15

"Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain."

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#16

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "All emotion is involuntary when genuine."

17points

#17

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."

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#18

"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards."

15points

#19

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

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#20

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

15points

#21

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."

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#22

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar."

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#23

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

15points

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#24

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

14points

#25

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times."

14points

#26

"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to."

14points

#27

"Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen."

14points

#28

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person."

14points

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#29

"It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them."

14points

#30

"Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

13points

#31

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure."

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#32

"Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often."

13points

#33

"Man was made at the end of the week's work, when God was tired."

13points

#34

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it."

13points

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#35

"It's good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling."

13points

#36

"To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal."

13points

#37

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Optimist: day dreamer more elegantly spelled."

13points

#38

"The lack of money is the root of all evil."

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#39

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt."

12points

#40

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

12points

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#41

"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."

12points

#42

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

12points

#43

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "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."

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#44

"We have the best government that money can buy."

12points

#45

"Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work."

12points

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#46

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself."

12points

#47

"Humor is mankind's greatest blessing."

12points

#48

"Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."

12points

#49

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?"

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#50

"The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little."

12points

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#51

"Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved."

12points

#52

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we."

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#53

"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."

11points

#54

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

11points

#55

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."

11points

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#56

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."

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#57

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

11points

#58

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the greater one."

11points

#59

"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet."

11points

#60

"Man will do many things to get himself loved, he will do all things to get himself envied."

11points

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#61

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."

11points

#62

"India has 2,000,000 gods and worships them all. In religion, all other countries are paupers; India is the only millionaire."

11points

#63

"Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned."

11points

#64

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."

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#65

"Often it does seem such a pity that Noah and his party did not miss the boat."

11points

#66

"Let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all."

11points

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#67

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."

10points

#68

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."

10points

#69

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

10points

#70

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."

10points

#71

"The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice."

10points

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#72

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."

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#73

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it."

10points

#74

"When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people."

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#75

"The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all."

10points

#76

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Don't let schooling interfere with your education."

9points

#77

"A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation."

9points

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#78

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

9points

#79

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech."

9points

#80

"In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours."

9points

#81

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them."

9points

#82

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."

9points

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#83

"Lord save us all from old age and broken health and a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms."

9points

#84

"Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."

9points

#85

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right."

9points

#86

"The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane."

9points

#87

"As an example to others, and not that I care for moderation myself, it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain from smoking when awake."

9points

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#88

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which, before their union, were not perceived to have any relation."

9points

#89

"I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way."

9points

#90

"When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not."

9points

#91

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The more things are forbidden, the more popular they become."

9points

#92

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."

8points

#93

"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."

8points

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

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#94

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "All generalizations are false, including this one."

8points

#95

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."

8points

#96

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today."

8points

#97

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "If the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later."

8points

#98

"God made the Idiot for practice, and then he made the School Board."

8points

#99

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them."

8points

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#100

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul."

8points

#101

"Lord save us all from old age and broken health and a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms."

8points

#102

"The finest clothing made is a person's own skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this."

8points

#103

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

8points

#104

"To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble."

8points

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#105

"Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish."

8points

#106

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The human race is a race of cowards, and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner."

8points

#107

"Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it."

8points

#108

"What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes only your skin."

8points

#109

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

7points

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#110

"Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

7points

#111

"Let us endeavor so to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."

7points

#112

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."

7points

#113

"When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain."

7points

#114

"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."

7points

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#115

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."

7points

#116

"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid."

7points

#117

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."

7points

#118

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it."

7points

#119

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

7points

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#120

"When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself."

7points

#121

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "The main difference between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives."

7points

#122

"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."

7points

#123

"The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow; there is no humor in Heaven."

7points

#124

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."

7points

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#125

"Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain't so."

7points

#126

"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn't know."

7points

#127

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man. The biography of the man himself cannot be written."

7points

#128

"Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation."

7points

#129

"It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected."

7points

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#130

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

7points

#131

"A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape."

7points

#132

"What a wee little part of a person's life are his acts and his words! His real-life is led in his head and is known to none but himself."

7points

#133

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

6points

#134

"It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse races."

6points

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#135

"It put our energies to sleep and made visionaries of us - dreamers and indolent... It is good to begin life poor; it is good to begin life rich - these are wholesome, but to begin it prospectively rich! The man who has not experienced it cannot imagine the curse of it."

6points

#136

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven."

5points

#137

"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet."

5points

#138

138 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That Have Left A Mark On The World "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."

5points

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Aivaras Kaziukonis

Aivaras is a SEO listicles curator. Aivaras is a student trying to pave the way to his career in Marketing and advertisment creation. Also Aivaras like's to watch and play sports, especially football.

Aivaras is a SEO listicles curator. Aivaras is a student trying to pave the way to his career in Marketing and advertisment creation. Also Aivaras like's to watch and play sports, especially football.

Violeta Lyskoit

Violeta is an SEO Editor at Bored Panda. She has completed her higher education at Northumbria University with a bachelor's degree in Media & Journalism.

Violeta is an SEO Editor at Bored Panda. She has completed her higher education at Northumbria University with a bachelor's degree in Media & Journalism.

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