Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Man is a marvelous curiosity...he thinks he is the Creator's pet...he even believes the Creator loves him; has passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watch over him and keep him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks he listens. Isn't it a quaint idea.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the irony of human belief in their special relationship with the Creator, suggesting a humorous skepticism about faith and divine attention.
Mark Twain's quote presents a satirical observation on humanity's self-perception and its relationship with the divine. He portrays humans as curious beings who think they are adored by their Creator, envisioning a personalized care from a higher power. Twain's words encourage us to reflect on the human tendency to center the universe around ourselves, illustrating how this can lead to a quaint yet absurd notion that we are the focal point of divine interest.
Themes
HumanityBeliefCreatorFaithSatire
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about religious beliefs and skepticism.
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
All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. That may sound simple to the point of childishness; I can't judge if it's simple, but I know it's true.
Albert CamusRead
Wrong life cannot be lived rightly.
Theodor AdornoRead
Our judgment ripens; our imagination decays. We cannot at once enjoy the flowers of the Spring of life and the fruits of its Autumn.
Thomas B. MacaulayRead
Eyes and ears are poor witnesses to people if they have uncultured souls.
HeraclitusRead
I . . . am always half afraid of finding a clever novel too clever--& of finding my own story & my own people all forestalled.
Jane AustenRead
An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell? No, said the priest, not if you did not know. Then why, asked the Inuit earnestly, did you tell me?
Annie DillardRead