Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
There is not an acre of ground on the globe that is in possession of its rightful owner, or that has not been taken away from owner after owner, cycle afer cycle, by force and bloodshed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote illustrates the perpetual struggle for land ownership throughout history, emphasizing the violent nature of acquiring territory.
Mark Twain's quote reflects on the history of land ownership, pointing out that throughout time, no piece of land remains with its original owner, as ownership has been continuously challenged and taken through conflict and violence. It serves as a commentary on human nature and the cyclical patterns of conquest and dispossession that characterize civilization's history, prompting reflection on the ethics of ownership and the consequences of violence in human affairs.
Themes
LandOwnershipViolenceHistoryConflict
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about historical land disputes during a lecture on colonialism.
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
The growth of our knowledge is the result of a process closely resembling what Darwin called 'natural selection'; that is, the natural selection of hypotheses: our knowledge consists, at every moment, of those hypotheses which have shown their (comparative) fitness by surviving so far in their struggle for existence, a competitive struggle which eliminates those hypotheses which are unfit.
Karl PopperRead
The connections I draw between human nature and political systems in my new book, for example, were prefigured in the debates during the Enlightenment and during the framing of the American Constitution.
Steven PinkerRead
Call your opinions your creed, and you will change it every week.
Phillips BrooksRead
The trouble with conspiracies is that they rot internally.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
The responsibility of philanthropy rests with us. The wealthier we are, the more powerful we get. We cannot put the entire onus on the government.
Azim PremjiRead
Belief is with them mechanical, voluntary: they believe what they are paid for - they swear to that which turns to account. Do you suppose, that after years spent in this manner, they have any feeling left answering to the difference between truth and falsehood?
William HazlittRead