Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
I find no change of consequence in grown people, I do not miss the dead. It does not surprise me to hear that this friend or that friend died at such and such a time, because I fully expected that sort of news. But somehow I had made no calculation on the infants. It never occurred to me that infants grow up...These unexpected changes, from infancy to youth, and from youth to maturity, are by far the most startling things I meet with.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the inevitable changes that occur from infancy to adulthood, emphasizing the unexpected nature of growth.
Mark Twain expresses a sense of surprise and reflection regarding the transformation from childhood to adulthood. While he is accustomed to the death of friends, which feels predictable, the transition of infants growing into mature individuals catches him off guard. This leads to a deeper contemplation of the surprising nature of life’s changes that occur without our conscious realization.
Themes
ChangeGrowthLifeTransformationSurprise
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a graduation speech to highlight the rapid changes students will face in their lives.
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
Change your mental attitude, & the World around you will change accordingly
Napoleon HillRead
Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.
Charles DuhiggRead
This will be a great day in our history; the date of a New Revolution - quite as much needed as the old one. Even now as I write they are leading old John Brown to execution in Virginia for attempting to rescue slaves! This is sowing the wind to reap the whirlwind which will come soon!
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.
Peter DruckerRead
I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.
John CageRead
Drug reformers get seduced by politicians who co-opt our language but who make no meaningful change. And when we don't hold politicians accountable, we contribute to harm.
Carl HartRead