Others

Et tout le reste est littérature .

Un poème n’est jamais achevé—c’est toujours un accident qui le termine .

[ On the Bible :] It is full of interest. It hasnoble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.

News is history in its first and best form, its vivid and fascinating form . . . history is the pale and tranquil reflection of it.

The language [German] which enables aman to travel all day in one sentence withoutchanging cars.

What are the proper proportions of a maxim? A minimum of sound to a maximum of sense.

“Classic.” A book which people praise and don’t read.

Even the clearest and most perfectcircumstantial evidence is likely to be at fault, after all, and therefore ought to be received with great caution. Take the case of any pencil, sharpened by any woman: if you have witnesses, you will find she did it with a knife; but if you take simply the aspect of the pencil, you will say she did it with her teeth.

Even popularity can be overdone. In Rome, along at first, you are full of regrets that Michelangelo died; but by and by you only regret that you didn’t see him do it.

Tell the truth or trump—but get the trick.

Don’t you know, there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardnessand stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn’t need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn’t do the thing he ought to.

The difference between the almost -right word& the right word is really a large matter—it’sthe difference between the lightning-bug & thelightning.

The difference between the almost -right word& the right word is really a large matter—it’sthe difference between the lightning-bug & thelightning.

Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; personsattempting to find a moral in it will bebanished; persons attempting to find a plot in itwill be shot.

You don’t know about me, without you haveread a book by the name of “The Adventuresof Tom Sawyer,” but that ain’t no matter. Thatbook was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he toldthe truth, mainly.

A pretty air in an opera is prettier there than it could be anywhere else, I suppose, just as anhonest man in politics shines more than hewould elsewhere.

The drawing shows me at a glance what would be spread over ten pages in a book.

The drawing shows me at a glance what would be spread over ten pages in a book.

There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.

Now they accuse me of going up and down the Nation on a whistlestop train, and the slogansthat they hurl at me most of the time are “Give’em hell, Harry.” That reputation I did not earn. All I do is to tell them [the Republicans] thetruth, and that hurts a lot worse than giving them hell.

The Literary “Fellow Travelers” of the Revolution.

He knows all about art, but he doesn’t knowwhat he likes.

Gonzo journalism . . . is a style of “reporting” based on William Faulkner’s idea that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism—and the best journalists have always known this.

O may my heart’s truth