Samuel Clemens, the Great Mark Twain

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Most people have forgotten the man born Samuel Clemens, who became the revered preacher of truth, Mark Twain. Even worse, those who have barely heard of him think of him as a backwoods bigot. Nothing could be further from the truth. So much can be learned from this outspoken, scholarly man of the world. Following, you will find a barrage of quotes, which we don't expect you to read, but we hope that you do. May all gods ever invented bless The Great Mark Twain.

On Progress

The so-called Christian nations are the most enlightened and progressive...but in spite of their religion, not because of it. The Church has opposed every innovation and discovery from the day of Galileo down to our own time, when the use of anesthetic in childbirth was regarded as a sin because it avoided the biblical curse pronounced against Eve. And every step in astronomy and geology ever taken has been opposed by bigotry and superstition. The Greeks surpassed us in artistic culture and in architecture five hundred years before Christian religion was born.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

Every little bit counts. We are very glad to have it, thin as the slice may be.
- letter to Charles Dillingham, 8/22/1902 (Karanovich collection)

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Isn't it odd that we should take a spasm, every now and then, and go spinning back into the dark ages once more, after having put in a world of time and money and work toiling up into the high lights of modern progress?

- Letter to Hartford Courant, 11/22/1879