Mark Twain Quotes

The tomb is the pedestal of greatness. I make a distinction between God's great and the king's great.

A man is great by deeds, not by birth.

No one who has come to true greatness has not felt in some degree that his life belongs to the people, and what God has given them he gives it for mankind.

You are a great king because you excel in mercy.

Every subject's duty is the King's; but every subject's soul is his own. Therefore, should every soldier in the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every mote out of his conscience; and dying so, death is to him advantage; or not dying, the time was blessedly lost wherein such preparation was gained; and in him that escapes, it were no sin to think that, making God so free an offer, He let him outlive the day to see His greatness and to teach others how they should prepare.

In this body, He resides, the Lord of souls and the King of kings.

For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.

A King (as such) is not a great man. He has great power, but it is not his own.

I am no herald to inquire into men's pedigree; it sufficeth me if I know their virtues.

A great nose may be an index Of a great soul

Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.

Sometimes people forget their own greatness.

There are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone. To be pious among infidels, to be disinterested in a time of general venality, to lead a life of virtue and reason in the midst of sensualists, is a proof of a mind intent on nobler things than the praise or blame of men, of a soul fixed in the contemplation of the highest good, and superiour to the tyranny of custom and example.

A man's worth depends upon the nobility of his aspirations.

In the world there are four greats, and the king is one of them.

Lord please save his soul, he was the king of rock and roll.

He will find one English book and one only, where, as in the "Iliad" itself, perfect plainness of speech is allied with perfect nobleness; and that book is the Bible.

Kings are chosen by the Source, so it is said. [...] Therefore those who fight for the king can be said to be godly. Is that not cause enough?

God ordains that beggars should beg for greatness, as for all else, when greatness shines out of them, and they don't know it.

Truth is so excellent, that if it praises but small things they become noble.

We owe subjection and obedience to all our kings, whether good or bad, alike, for that has respect unto their office; but as to esteem and affection, these are only due to their virtue.

Sometimes, it is not the kings and queen who make for the most fascinating history but the shadowy souls who happen to be in the right place at the right time.

The noble soul reveres itself

Democracy is always the work of kings. Ashes, which in themselves are sterile, fertilize the land they are cast upon.

To-day kings, to-marrow beggars, it is only when they are themselves that they are nothing.