Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
We were good boys, good Presbyterian boys, and loyal and all that; anyway, we were good Presbyterian boys when the weather was doubtful; when it was fair, we did wander a little from the fold.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the duality of human nature, suggesting that true loyalty is tested during difficult times.
Mark Twain's quote humorously highlights the tendency of people to adhere to their principles and moral values only when it is convenient or easy, indicating that during challenging circumstances, one's character is truly tested. It suggests that while individuals may identify with their 'good' traits, they may stray from their values when faced with temptation or hardship, inviting reflection on the authenticity of one's loyalty and beliefs.
Themes
LoyaltyValuesHuman NaturePrinciplesTemptation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about morality in difficult times.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
Mark TwainRead
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
Mark TwainRead
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Mark TwainRead
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Mark TwainRead
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.
Mark TwainRead
Similar quotes
Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity. Ours is a culture that measures our worth as human beings by our efficiency, our earnings, our ability to perform this or that. The cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that makes life worth living.
Maria PopovaRead
To adore the conqueror, who now beholds Cherub and seraph rolling in the flood.
John MiltonRead
Which, I wonder, brother reader, is the better lot, to die prosperous and famous, or poor and disappointed? To have, and to be forced to yield; or to sink out of life, having played and lost the game? That must be a strange feeling, when a day of our life comes and we say, 'To-morrow, success or failure won't matter much; and the sun will rise, and all the myriads of mankind go to their work or their pleasure as usual, but I shall be out of the turmoil.'
William Makepeace ThackerayRead
Every human life contains a potential, if that potential is not fulfilled, then that life was wasted.
Carl JungRead
A swami may conceivably follow only the path of dry reasoning, of cold renunciation; but a yogi engages himself in a definite, step-by-step procedure by which the body and mind are disciplined, and the soul liberated.
Paramahansa YoganandaRead
When you deprive people of their right to live in dignity, to hope for a better future, to have control over their lives, when you deprive them of that choice, then you expect them to fight for these rights.
Queen Rania Of JordanRead