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A dream...I was trying to explain to St. Peter, and was doing it in the German tongue, because I didn't want to be too explicit.
Mark Twain
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the complexity of communication and the nuances involved in expressing one's thoughts, especially about significant themes like dreams and the afterlife.

In this quote, Mark Twain humorously contemplates the difficulties of explaining one's dreams to St. Peter, using the German language to avoid full disclosure. It illustrates the challenges of conveying profound thoughts and experiences, highlighting that even in dreams, clarity can be elusive and that we often grapple with how to articulate our inner lives to others.

Themes

DreamsCommunicationPhilosophyHumorAfterlife

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a discussion about the significance of dreams in literature.

More from Mark Twain

Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
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You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
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To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
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Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
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In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
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