--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mark Twain said, two people can keep a…" description: "\"“Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”\" — Kaje Harper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg" --- # Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of… ![“Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.” quote by Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg) > ““Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”” [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The saying humorously suggests that a secret can be truly safe only when one holder is dead, highlighting the fragility of trust. **In simple terms:** Secrets survive only if the dead keep them. Key Takeaway Consider the ethics of secrecy and trust. Themes trust secrecy humor mortality communication Mood wry insightful contemplative Type humorous ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - legal confidentiality - corporate espionage - political whistleblowing - family secrets Key Concepts Ethical dilemma human nature social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What makes a secret truly safe? - How do we balance secrecy with transparency? A Different Perspective It ignores that living parties can also protect secrets effectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [To make fun of an administration, to make fun of anything, Mark Twain said, is the last defense of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/to-make-fun-of-an-administration-to-make-fun-of-anything-mark-twain/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“Mark Twain said that Adam was the only man who, when he said a good thing, knew that nobody had said it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/mark-twain-said-that-adam-was-the-only-man-who-when-he-said-a-good/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Ben smiled back, 'Mark Twain said a novel was a confession to everything by a man who had never done anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/ben-smiled-back-mark-twain-said-a-novel-was-a-confession-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/mark-twain-once-said-i-can-live-for-two-months-on-a-good-compliment/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [I think it was Mark Twain who said, “Get your facts straight, and then you can distort them as much as you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/i-think-it-was-mark-twain-who-said-get-your-facts-straight-and-then/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [“Mark Twain said “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, but what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-callery/mark-twain-said-it-ain-t-what-you-don-t-know-that-gets-you-into/) [Terence Callery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-callery/) > [“History may not repeat itself but, as Mark Twain said, it does rhyme.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kriwaczek/history-may-not-repeat-itself-but-as-mark-twain-said-it-does-rhyme/) [Paul Kriwaczek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kriwaczek/) > [“Mark Twain said a century ago, “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kelley/mark-twain-said-a-century-ago-it-s-not-what-you-don-t-know-that-gets/) [Tom Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kelley/) > [Those who have heard me speak from time to time know that quite often I cite the observation of that great American author, Mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-hayworth/those-who-have-heard-me-speak-from-time-to-time-know-that-quite-often/) [J. D. Hayworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-hayworth/) > [Mark Twain once said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-laszlo-barabasi/mark-twain-once-said-that-history-doesn-t-repeat-itself-but-it-does/) Albert-Laszlo Barabasi > [“Mark Twain said, "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." Dorsey Bing said, "I'll take womankind's greatest blessing: more wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cece-osgood/mark-twain-said-humor-is-mankind-s-greatest-blessing-dorsey-bing-said/) CeCe Osgood > [“We are so identified with who we think we are that it limits how we can be, determines how we live, and conditions how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-are-so-identified-with-who-we-think-we-are-that-it-limits-how-we/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“Mark Twain said that, outside of Vienna, all coffee was merely liquid poverty," Sarah commented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/mark-twain-said-that-outside-of-vienna-all-coffee-was-merely-liquid/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [“LEARN FROM THE MASTERS: Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” This is an incredibly important lesson for writers to remember; never get such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-nissan/learn-from-the-masters-mark-twain-once-said-show-don-t-tell-this-is/) [Colin Nissan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-nissan/) > [“Death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, as Mark Twain once said. Or was it Benjamin Franklin?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leather/death-and-taxes-are-the-only-two-certainties-in-life-as-mark-twain/) [Stephen Leather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leather/) ## More by Kaje Harper > [“Mac blinked. That smile should be registered as a deadly weapon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/mac-blinked-that-smile-should-be-registered-as-a-deadly-weapon/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“What good is a book no-one can read, save for the paper?" He was lucky I'd had to let him live. If my glare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/what-good-is-a-book-no-one-can-read-save-for-the-paper-he-was-lucky-i/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Someday,” Mac said almost inaudibly. Tony turned to see the big man’s eyes fixed on the same couple. To his surprise, Mac went on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/someday-mac-said-almost-inaudibly-tony-turned-to-see-the-big-man-s/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“you’ve been all black and white, like Kansas. It’s time to get back to Oz. Enjoy the colors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/you-ve-been-all-black-and-white-like-kansas-it-s-time-to-get-back-to/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Only one man I love enough to do something like golfing for, and it’s not Dad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/only-one-man-i-love-enough-to-do-something-like-golfing-for-and-it-s/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“The minister’s voice floated around them. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of these two men in marriage. Through many long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/the-minister-s-voice-floated-around-them-we-are-gathered-here-today/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Hey!” Marty protested. “I have the best gaydar around.” “Except when you’re wrong. Like that construction worker?” “I’m not wrong just because they won’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/hey-marty-protested-i-have-the-best-gaydar-around-except-when-you-re/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Of course he was a politician. He had a lot of experience in saying nothing in a hundred words or more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/of-course-he-was-a-politician-he-had-a-lot-of-experience-in-saying/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“It wasn’t about sex, it was about comfort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/it-wasn-t-about-sex-it-was-about-comfort/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Did you know, the Alpha bond is a lot like the mate bond. The first twenty-four hours are apparently intense. I took oath from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/did-you-know-the-alpha-bond-is-a-lot-like-the-mate-bond-the-first/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Sometimes his life felt like a Venn diagram, a series of overlapping circles, each with their disconnects. He could share Mac with Ben, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/sometimes-his-life-felt-like-a-venn-diagram-a-series-of-overlapping/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Ian willed all his energy, all his strength through that touch and into Chris. Take it, take everything, babe. I'm yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/ian-willed-all-his-energy-all-his-strength-through-that-touch-and/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“I looked up at the shelf that held my books. I had dozens now. Faithful friends who took me on journeys without judgement and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/i-looked-up-at-the-shelf-that-held-my-books-i-had-dozens-now-faithful/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“Sometimes when you live with one man for more than half your life, you stop really seeing him. Not stop loving him. That center-of-my-heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/sometimes-when-you-live-with-one-man-for-more-than-half-your-life-you/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) > [“May I just say that religion and logic don't always go together, and then we can move on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/may-i-just-say-that-religion-and-logic-don-t-always-go-together-and/) [Kaje Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) [Explore all 48 Kaje Harper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/) ## More Mark twain quotes > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Where is it written that if you don't like religion you are somehow disqualified from being a legitimate American? What was Mark Twain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-hertzberg/where-is-it-written-that-if-you-don-t-like-religion-you-are-somehow/) [Hendrik Hertzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-hertzberg/) > [The critique of social inequality, which is very much a part of my story, came about naturally from my recollection of Huck and Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/the-critique-of-social-inequality-which-is-very-much-a-part-of-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Mark Twain didn't psychoanalyze Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. Dickens didn't put Oliver Twist on the couch because he was hungry! Good copy comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/mark-twain-didn-t-psychoanalyze-huck-finn-or-tom-sawyer-dickens-didn/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [To make fun of an administration, to make fun of anything, Mark Twain said, is the last defense of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/to-make-fun-of-an-administration-to-make-fun-of-anything-mark-twain/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“Never let school get in the way of your education. Mark Twain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-krieger/never-let-school-get-in-the-way-of-your-education-mark-twain/) Evelyn Krieger > [Mark Twain had a way of telling stories that shifts your consciousness away from labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/mark-twain-had-a-way-of-telling-stories-that-shifts-your/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [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. Â Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > ['Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.' Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-go-around-saying-the-world-owes-you-a-living-the-world-owes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If my name were Mark Twain, I’d write under the pseudonym “Samuel Clemens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-my-name-were-mark-twain-i-d-write-under-the-pseudonym-samuel/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“A half-century later, Mark Twain would say that the gold rush drastically changed the American character, ending the tradition of patient apprenticeships, the gradual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/a-half-century-later-mark-twain-would-say-that-the-gold-rush/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [I never dreamed I would receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, mostly because my style is so typically Austrian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-never-dreamed-i-would-receive-the-mark-twain-prize-for-american/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“The truth is a fragile thing, but a lie, well told, can live forever. “ — Mark Twain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-nugent/the-truth-is-a-fragile-thing-but-a-lie-well-told-can-live-forever/) Rebecca Nugent Browse all 225 Mark twain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kaje Harper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-secret-if-one-of-them-is-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mark twain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-secret-if-one-of-them-is-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/247/kaje-harper-14084_mark-twain_mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-se_571473.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mark Twain said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.” — Kaje Harper", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Kaje Harper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaje-harper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mark Twain said, two people can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-secret-if-one-of-them-is-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaje-harper/mark-twain-said-two-people-can-keep-a-secret-if-one-of-them-is-dead/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```