Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
My advice to girls: first, don't smoke - to excess; second, don't drink - to excess; third, don't marry - to excess.
Interpretation
Mark Twain advises girls to avoid excess in smoking, drinking, and marriage.
This quote by Mark Twain emphasizes the importance of moderation in various aspects of life. It suggests that while certain activities or commitments may be enjoyable, indulging in them excessively can lead to negative consequences. Through this humorous and cautionary advice, Twain encourages a balanced approach to living.
In practice
A speaker at a young women's empowerment event referencing Twain's advice on healthy habits.
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
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.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
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.
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude, of giving and forgiving. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
When people think about 'thinking,' they often think 'academia;' they think 'threat.' They think 'coldness.' I want to reverse all those images and say, 'No, the brain God gave you is intended to throw fuel on the fire of your affections for God. It's really good at it if you let it.'
You shouldn't expect people in the past to do things they couldn't have done.
Consider whether fulfillment of the goal you have chosen will constitute success. What is success? If you possess health and wealth, but have trouble with everybody (including yourself), yours is not a successful life. Existence becomes futile if you cannot find happiness. When wealth is lost, you have lost a little; when health is lost, you have lost something of more consequence; but when peace of mind is lost, you have lost the highest treasure.
It is only because you take your mind to be yourself, and make it dwell on what you are not, that you lose your sense of well-being.
If a great thing can be done, it can be done easily, but this ease is like the of ease of a tree blossoming after long years of gathering strength.
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