Mark Twain Quotes

Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one.

A man should be upright, not be kept upright.

Liberty without virtue would be no blessing to us.

Men have the power of thinking that they may avoid sin.

Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our deeds.

Whatever the mind of man creates, should be controlled by man's character.

I learned one thing in Watergate: I was well-intentioned but rationalized illegal behavior. You cannot live your life other than walking in the truth. Your means are as important as your ends.

If what the heart approves conforms to proper patterns, then even if one's desires are many, what harm would they be to good order?

I protest that if some great Power would agree to make me always think what is true and do what is right, on condition of being turned into a sort of clock and would up every morning before I got out of bed, I should instantly close with the offer.

The only freedom I care about is the freedom to do right; the freedom to do wrong I am ready to part with on the cheapest terms to anyone who will take it of me.

True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right.

The man of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.

Wise people, even though all laws were abolished, would still lead the same life.

If I wanted to do wrong, I could not.

Good actions ennoble us, we are the sons of our own deeds.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

I deserve respect for the things I did not do.

No one can harm the man who does himself no wrong.

It's absolutely true that unless you can instill discipline upon yourself, you will never be able to lead others.

Men are more accountable for their motives, than for anything else; and primarily, morality consists in the motives, that is in the affections.

A man's character is his guardian divinity.

In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue.

Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.

Freedom is not the liberty do anything whatsoever. It is the freedom to do good

What man's mind can create, man's character can control.