“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.”

— Mark Twain, Letter to George Bainton (15 October 1888)

About Mark Twain

1835 – 1910

American author and humorist famous for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His sharp wit and social commentary remain as relevant as ever.

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“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.”

— Mark Twain

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

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

— Mark Twain

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

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“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

— Socrates

“It is unlikely that the good of a snail should reside in its shell: so is it likely that the good of a man should?”

— Epictetus

“In theory there is nothing to hinder our following what we are taught; but in life there are many things to draw us aside.”

— Epictetus

“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces.”

— William Shakespeare

“That which makes the man no worse than he was makes his life no worse: it has no power to harm, without or within.”

— Marcus Aurelius

“Always take the short cut; and that is the rational one. Therefore say and do everything according to soundest reason.”

— Marcus Aurelius

“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.”

About Mark Twain

More from Mark Twain

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