Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection-that is the last and most precious reward that any man can win, whether by character or achievement.
Interpretation
Affection is the highest form of appreciation one can receive for their character or accomplishments.
In this quote, Mark Twain emphasizes the importance of affection over mere praise or compliments. While recognition for achievements and good character is valuable, it is the deep, personal connection expressed through affection that holds the most significance, making it the ultimate reward a person can earn in life.
In practice
During a motivational talk, one could use this quote to highlight the significance of genuine connections over superficial accolades.
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.
Each time my heart is broken it makes me feel more adventurous (and how the same names keep recurring on that interminable list!), but one of these days there'll be nothing left with which to venture forth. Why should I share you? Why don't you get rid of someone else for a change?
Distance is temporary, but our love is permanent._x000D_ _x000D_ This may be the last time I see you, but if you keep me in your heart, together we shall be eternal; if you believe, we shall never part.
It's a form of human love to accept our complicated, messy humanity and not run away from it.
How sweet I roamed from field to field, And tasted all the summer's pride, Till I the prince of love beheld, Who in the sunny beams did glide!
β¦he glanced over his shoulder at her, regarding her, as he often did before they made love, as if she were a lost continent about to be rediscovered.
The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, oneβs dreams would have no meaning.
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