--- title: "25 Ought Quotes By Mark Twain" description: "25 Ought quotes by Mark Twain. Plus more from Mark Twain and more Ought sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png" --- > [There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house-to-swear-in-it-s-dangerous-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png) > [The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/mark-twain-22_damned_the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-an_128847.png) > [You ought never to sass old people- unless they sass you first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unless-they-sass-you-first/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/mark-twain-22_firsts_you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unles_2683858.png) > [A street in Constantinople is a picture which one ought to see once-not oftener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture-which-one-ought-to-see-once/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/mark-twain-22_constantinople_a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture_240351.png) > [Both marriage and death ought to be welcome: the one promises happiness, doubtless the other assures it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welcome-the-one-promises/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/mark-twain-22_death_both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welc_808215.png) > [Surely the ass who invented the first religion ought to be the first ass damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-religion-ought-to-be-the-first/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/mark-twain-22_ass_surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-re_491051.png) > [If you take epitaphs seriously, we ought to bury the living and resurrect the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought-to-bury-the-living-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/mark-twain-22_dead_if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought_521483.png) > [The low level which commercial morality has reached in America is deplorable. We have humble God fearing Christian men among us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-low-level-which-commercial-morality-has-reached-in-america-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/mark-twain-22_america_the-low-level-which-commercial-morality_1118777.png) > [Two things seemed pretty apparent to me. One was that in order to be a pilot a man had to learn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me-one-was-that-in-order-to-be-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-twain-22_24-hours_two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me_1538073.png) > [The symbol of the race ought to be a human being carrying an ax, for every human being has one concealed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-human-being-carrying-an-ax-for/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/mark-twain-22_concealed_the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-hum_629322.png) > [from the beginning of my sojourn in this world there was a persistent vacancy in me where the industry ought to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this-world-there-was-a-persistent/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/mark-twain-22_authority_from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this_2593669.png) > [Persons who think there is no such thing as luck good or bad are entitled to their opinion, although I think they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing-as-luck-good-or-bad-are/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/mark-twain-22_entitled_persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing_2202952.png) > [A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-barring-spelling-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/mark-twain-22_awful_a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-b_452505.png) > [It now seems plain to me that that theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one...the Descent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theory-ought-to-be-vacated-in/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/mark-twain-22_animal_it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theor_1115765.png) > [The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/mark-twain-22_bowels_the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury_474433.png) > [Your road is everything that a road ought to be...and yet you will not stay in it half a mile, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ought-to-be-and-yet-you-will-not/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/mark-twain-22_branching-out_your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ough_2449377.jpg) > [Nevertheless we have this curious spectacle: daily the trained parrot in the pulpit gravely delivers himself of these ironies, which he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-spectacle-daily-the-trained-parrot/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c2/mark-twain-22_accepting_nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-specta_1524035.jpg) > [Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he can't see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-must-be-built-upon-a-foundation/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png) > [Even the clearest and most perfect circumstantial evidence is likely to be at fault, after all, and therefore ought to be received…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circumstantial-evidence-is-likely/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/mark-twain-22_aspect_even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circu_790166.png) > [My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-me-that-a-gifted-person-ought/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/mark-twain-22_awful_my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-m_595116.png) > [It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-telegraph-or-a-steam-engine-or-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/mark-twain-22_all-things_it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-tele_2469881.png) > [Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger than necessary;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-ought-not-to-lie-at-all-that-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/mark-twain-22_accomplishment_some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-oug_2425026.png) > [If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-constitute-but-one-percent-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/mark-twain-22_art_if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-con_1110700.png) > [Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago; but now that the lawyers have got to cutting every gallows rope and picking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-enough-long-ago-but-now-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/mark-twain-22_claims_heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-e_497581.jpg) > [Crowds stand around all day long and criticise that bridge, and find fault with it, and tell with unlimited frankness how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-criticise-that-bridge-and-find/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/mark-twain-22_america_crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-cri_2315131.jpg) ## Other authors on Ought ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/#itemlist", "name": "25 Ought Quotes By Mark Twain", "numberOfItems": 25, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house-to-swear-in-it-s-dangerous-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/mark-twain-22_damned_the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-an_128847.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/mark-twain-22_damned_the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-an_128847.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8d/mark-twain-22_damned_the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-an_128847.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You ought never to sass old people- unless they sass you first.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unless-they-sass-you-first/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/mark-twain-22_firsts_you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unles_2683858.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/mark-twain-22_firsts_you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unles_2683858.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/mark-twain-22_firsts_you-ought-never-to-sass-old-people-unles_2683858.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You ought never to sass old people- unless they sass you first.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A street in Constantinople is a picture which one ought to see once-not oftener.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture-which-one-ought-to-see-once/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/mark-twain-22_constantinople_a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture_240351.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/mark-twain-22_constantinople_a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture_240351.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/mark-twain-22_constantinople_a-street-in-constantinople-is-a-picture_240351.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A street in Constantinople is a picture which one ought to see once-not oftener.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Both marriage and death ought to be welcome: the one promises happiness, doubtless the other assures it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welcome-the-one-promises/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/mark-twain-22_death_both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welc_808215.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/mark-twain-22_death_both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welc_808215.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/062/mark-twain-22_death_both-marriage-and-death-ought-to-be-welc_808215.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Both marriage and death ought to be welcome: the one promises happiness, doubtless the other assures it.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Surely the ass who invented the first religion ought to be the first ass damned", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-religion-ought-to-be-the-first/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/mark-twain-22_ass_surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-re_491051.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/mark-twain-22_ass_surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-re_491051.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a2/mark-twain-22_ass_surely-the-ass-who-invented-the-first-re_491051.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Surely the ass who invented the first religion ought to be the first ass damned” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you take epitaphs seriously, we ought to bury the living and resurrect the dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought-to-bury-the-living-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/mark-twain-22_dead_if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought_521483.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/mark-twain-22_dead_if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought_521483.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/mark-twain-22_dead_if-you-take-epitaphs-seriously-we-ought_521483.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you take epitaphs seriously, we ought to bury the living and resurrect the dead.” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The low level which commercial morality has reached in America is deplorable. We have humble God fearing Christian men among us who will stoop to do things for a million dollars that they ought not to be willing to do for less than 2 millions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-low-level-which-commercial-morality-has-reached-in-america-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/mark-twain-22_america_the-low-level-which-commercial-morality_1118777.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/mark-twain-22_america_the-low-level-which-commercial-morality_1118777.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/mark-twain-22_america_the-low-level-which-commercial-morality_1118777.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The low level which commercial morality has reached in America is deplorable. We have humble God fearing…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Two things seemed pretty apparent to me. One was that in order to be a pilot a man had to learn more than any one man ought to learn; and the other was that he must learn it all over again in a different way every 24 hours.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me-one-was-that-in-order-to-be-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-twain-22_24-hours_two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me_1538073.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-twain-22_24-hours_two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me_1538073.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-twain-22_24-hours_two-things-seemed-pretty-apparent-to-me_1538073.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Two things seemed pretty apparent to me. One was that in order to be a pilot a man had to learn more than…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The symbol of the race ought to be a human being carrying an ax, for every human being has one concealed about him somewhere, and is always seeking the opportunity to grind it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-human-being-carrying-an-ax-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/mark-twain-22_concealed_the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-hum_629322.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/mark-twain-22_concealed_the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-hum_629322.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/mark-twain-22_concealed_the-symbol-of-the-race-ought-to-be-a-hum_629322.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The symbol of the race ought to be a human being carrying an ax, for every human being has one concealed…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "from the beginning of my sojourn in this world there was a persistent vacancy in me where the industry ought to be. (Ought to was is better, perhaps, though the most of the authorities differ as to this.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this-world-there-was-a-persistent/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/mark-twain-22_authority_from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this_2593669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/mark-twain-22_authority_from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this_2593669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/mark-twain-22_authority_from-the-beginning-of-my-sojourn-in-this_2593669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“from the beginning of my sojourn in this world there was a persistent vacancy in me where the industry ought…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Persons who think there is no such thing as luck good or bad are entitled to their opinion, although I think they ought to be shot for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing-as-luck-good-or-bad-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/mark-twain-22_entitled_persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing_2202952.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/mark-twain-22_entitled_persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing_2202952.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/mark-twain-22_entitled_persons-who-think-there-is-no-such-thing_2202952.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Persons who think there is no such thing as luck good or bad are entitled to their opinion, although I think…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-barring-spelling-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/mark-twain-22_awful_a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-b_452505.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/mark-twain-22_awful_a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-b_452505.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/702/mark-twain-22_awful_a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-b_452505.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It now seems plain to me that that theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one...the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theory-ought-to-be-vacated-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/mark-twain-22_animal_it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theor_1115765.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/mark-twain-22_animal_it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theor_1115765.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/674/mark-twain-22_animal_it-now-seems-plain-to-me-that-that-theor_1115765.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It now seems plain to me that that theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one...the Descent…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have the system we ought to try and respect it. A thing which is not thoroughly easy to do, when we reflect that by command of the law a criminal juror must be an intellectual vacuum, attached to a melting heart and perfectly macaronian bowels of compassion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury-played-a-colossal-practical/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/mark-twain-22_bowels_the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury_474433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/mark-twain-22_bowels_the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury_474433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/mark-twain-22_bowels_the-humorist-who-invented-trial-by-jury_474433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The humorist who invented trial by jury played a colossal practical joke upon the world, but since we have…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your road is everything that a road ought to be...and yet you will not stay in it half a mile, for the reason that little, seductive, mysterious roads are always branching out from it on either hand, and as these curve sharply also and hide what is beyond, you cannot resist the temptation to desert your own chosen path and explore them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ought-to-be-and-yet-you-will-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/mark-twain-22_branching-out_your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ough_2449377.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/mark-twain-22_branching-out_your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ough_2449377.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/mark-twain-22_branching-out_your-road-is-everything-that-a-road-ough_2449377.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your road is everything that a road ought to be...and yet you will not stay in it half a mile, for the…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nevertheless we have this curious spectacle: daily the trained parrot in the pulpit gravely delivers himself of these ironies, which he has acquired at second-hand and adopted without examination, to a trained congregation which accepts them without examination, and neither the speaker nor the hearer laughs at himself. It does seem as if we ought to be humble when we are at a bench-show, and not put on airs of intellectual superiority there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-spectacle-daily-the-trained-parrot/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c2/mark-twain-22_accepting_nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-specta_1524035.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c2/mark-twain-22_accepting_nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-specta_1524035.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c2/mark-twain-22_accepting_nevertheless-we-have-this-curious-specta_1524035.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nevertheless we have this curious spectacle: daily the trained parrot in the pulpit gravely delivers himself…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he can't see the foundation the superstructure is to him merely a freak -- like the Flatiron building without any visible means of support -- something that ought to be arrested.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-must-be-built-upon-a-foundation/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even the clearest and most perfect circumstantial evidence is likely to be at fault, after all, and therefore ought to be received with great caution. Take the case of any pencil, sharpened by any woman; if you have witnesses, you will find she did it with a knife; but if you take simply the aspect of the pencil, you will say that she did it with her teeth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circumstantial-evidence-is-likely/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/mark-twain-22_aspect_even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circu_790166.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/mark-twain-22_aspect_even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circu_790166.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/mark-twain-22_aspect_even-the-clearest-and-most-perfect-circu_790166.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even the clearest and most perfect circumstantial evidence is likely to be at fault, after all, and…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years. It seems manifest, then, that the latter tongue ought to be trimmed down and repaired. If it is to remain as it is, it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-me-that-a-gifted-person-ought/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/mark-twain-22_awful_my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-m_595116.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/mark-twain-22_awful_my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-m_595116.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/mark-twain-22_awful_my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-m_595116.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing-and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. He added his little mite - that is all he did. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-telegraph-or-a-steam-engine-or-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/mark-twain-22_all-things_it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-tele_2469881.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/mark-twain-22_all-things_it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-tele_2469881.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/mark-twain-22_all-things_it-takes-a-thousand-men-to-invent-a-tele_2469881.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger than necessary; still, while I cannot go quite so far as that, I do maintain, and I believe I am right, that the young ought to be temperate in the use of this great art until practice and experience shall give them that confidence, elegance and precision which alone can make the accomplishment graceful and profitable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-ought-not-to-lie-at-all-that-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/mark-twain-22_accomplishment_some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-oug_2425026.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/mark-twain-22_accomplishment_some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-oug_2425026.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/mark-twain-22_accomplishment_some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-oug_2425026.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 23, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-constitute-but-one-percent-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/mark-twain-22_art_if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-con_1110700.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/mark-twain-22_art_if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-con_1110700.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfc/mark-twain-22_art_if-the-statistics-are-right-the-jews-con_1110700.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 24, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago; but now that the lawyers have got to cutting every gallows rope and picking every prison lock with it, it is become a sneaking villainy that ought to hang and keep on hanging its sudden possessors until evil-doers should conclude that the safest plan was to never claim to have it until they came by it legitimately. The very calibre of the people the lawyers most frequently try to save by the insanity subterfuge ought to laugh the plea out of the courts, one would think.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-enough-long-ago-but-now-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/mark-twain-22_claims_heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-e_497581.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/mark-twain-22_claims_heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-e_497581.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f13/mark-twain-22_claims_heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-e_497581.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago; but now that the lawyers have got to cutting every…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 25, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Crowds stand around all day long and criticise that bridge, and find fault with it, and tell with unlimited frankness how it ought to have been planned, and how they would have built it had the city granted them the $14,000 it cost. It is really refreshing to hang around these and listen to them. A foreigner would come to the conclusion that all America was composed of inspired professional bridge builders.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-criticise-that-bridge-and-find/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/mark-twain-22_america_crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-cri_2315131.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/mark-twain-22_america_crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-cri_2315131.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/154/mark-twain-22_america_crowds-stand-around-all-day-long-and-cri_2315131.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Crowds stand around all day long and criticise that bridge, and find fault with it, and tell with unlimited…” — Mark Twain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/", "name": "Ought Quotes by Mark Twain", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/mark-twain-22_cursing_there-ought-to-be-a-room-in-every-house_791557.png" }, "description": "25 Ought quotes by Mark Twain. Plus more from Mark Twain and more Ought sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ought", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/mark-twain/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```