Quotes from book
Following the Equator

Following the Equator is a non-fiction social commentary in the form of a travelogue published by Mark Twain in 1897.


Mark Twain photo

“Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. LXVI
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain photo

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XLIX
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“Truth is stranger than fiction — to some people, but I am measurably familiar with it.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XV
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“It is more trouble to make a maxim than it is to do right.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. III
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“Man will do many things to get himself loved; he will do all things to get himself envied.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XXI
Following the Equator (1897)
Variant: Man will do many things to get himself loved, he will do all things to get himself envied.

Mark Twain photo

“Prosperity is the best protector of principle.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. II ; as cited in Mark Twain at your Fingertips https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0486473198: A Book of Quotations, ed. Caroline Thomas Hornsberger, Courier Corp. (2009), p. 385
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“When in doubt, tell the truth.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. II
Not in the text, but added by many sources is the sentence: "It will confound your enemies and astound your friends." Compare this line to the advice attributed to Henry Wotton (1568 - 1639) to a young diplomat "to tell the truth, and so puzzle and confound his enemies." E.g., Vol 24, Encyclopedia Britannica of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, page 721 https://books.google.com/books?id=_GlJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA721&lpg=PA721&dq=truth+wotton+confound+advice&source=bl&ots=-cGk3UDLLj&sig=ltOR1xtI9WFic1JWKiFmIZ8Yce0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVkZCsj-jRAhXCyFQKHTmsCkAQ6AEIODAG#v=onepage&q=truth%20wotton%20confound%20advice&f=false (9th Ed. 1894)
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain photo

“Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. VII
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain photo

“Often, the surest way to convey misinformation is to tell the strict truth.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. LIX
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo
Mark Twain photo

“Nearly all black and brown skins are beautiful, but a beautiful white skin is rare.”

Source: Following the Equator (1897), Ch. XLI

Mark Twain photo

“By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man's, I mean.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XXXIX
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. VIII
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XLVIII
Following the Equator (1897)
Variant: To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.

Mark Twain photo

“Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid.”

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. V
Following the Equator (1897)

Mark Twain photo

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