Mark Twain
(page 6)
A round man cannot be expected to fit in a square hole right away. He must have time to modify his shape.
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.
An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before.
Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.
I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him.
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.