Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
The perfection of wisdom, and the end of true philosophy is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, we will then be a happy and a virtuous people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness comes from aligning our desires with what we actually have and can achieve.
Mark Twain suggests that wisdom lies in understanding the relationship between our aspirations and our current circumstances. By moderating our desires to match our possessions and capabilities, we can cultivate a sense of happiness and virtue within ourselves and our communities.
Themes
WisdomHappinessContentmentDesiresPossessions
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage people to find happiness through gratitude.
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.
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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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