--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not attend his funeral, but I sent…" description: "\"I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it!..\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png" --- # I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter… ![“I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it!..” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png) > “I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it!..” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expressing approval through a letter can substitute for physical presence at a funeral. **In simple terms:** A kind note can honor someone without attending. Key Takeaway Send sincere messages when absent. Themes grief etiquette communication Mood somber thoughtful Type reflective practical When to use this quote - condolence cards - email messages - memorial services Key Concepts social norms personal expression Questions to Reflect On - When is a letter appropriate? - How do cultural expectations differ? A Different Perspective Letters may feel impersonal to some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classic insult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic-insult/) [Funeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funeral/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) ## Related quotes > [“I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mcmanus/i-didn-t-attend-the-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i/) Mike McManus > [I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-didn-t-attend-the-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/why-do-you-sit-there-looking-like-an-envelope-without-any-address-on/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To listen to some people in Politics, you'd think-nice-was a four-letter word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steel/to-listen-to-some-people-in-politics-you-d-think-nice-was-a-four/) [David Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steel/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/beauty-is-only-skin-deep-but-ugly-goes-clean-to-the-bone/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [ “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." \[On British Labour politician Stafford Cripps.\] ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-s-churchill/he-has-all-the-virtues-i-dislike-and-none-of-the-vices-i-admire-on/) [Winston S. Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-s-churchill/) > [“I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend ... if you have one." — George Bernard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-am-enclosing-two-tickets-to-the-first-night-of-my-new-play-bring-a-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/she-runs-the-gamut-of-emotions-from-a-to-b/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/cannot-possibly-attend-first-night-will-attend-second-if-there-is-one/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [ \[on pop idol Donny Osmond\] He has Van Gogh's ear for music. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/on-pop-idol-donny-osmond-he-has-van-gogh-s-ear-for-music/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-tucker/he-loves-nature-in-spite-of-what-it-did-to-him/) Forrest Tucker > [A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.' That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-member-of-parliament-to-disraeli-sir-you-will-either-die-on-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebearers, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-inherited-some-good-instincts-from-his-quaker-forebearers-but-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ If all the girls attending \[the Yale prom\] were laid end to end, I wouldn't be at all surprised. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/if-all-the-girls-attending-the-yale-prom-were-laid-end-to-end-i/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## 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/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Approved quotes > [In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year - plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-hastings/in-mid-may-the-house-of-representatives-approved-the-full-amount-of/) [Doc Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-hastings/) > [Foreign journalists have to have an approved interpreter assigned them, which they have to pay for, who also acts as guide. As an Iranian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/foreign-journalists-have-to-have-an-approved-interpreter-assigned/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The White House approved an exemption in Obamacare coverage for Congress and members of their staff. Members complained that the Affordable Care Act will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-white-house-approved-an-exemption-in-obamacare-coverage-for/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [When I came to explain to them the 'Nelson Touch', it was like an electric shock. Some shed tears, all approved - 'It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/when-i-came-to-explain-to-them-the-nelson-touch-it-was-like-an/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [As much as the next person, I want to be approved of, but I'm not greedy for that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/as-much-as-the-next-person-i-want-to-be-approved-of-but-i-m-not/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [The SEC got more than 100 rules to write under Dodd-Frank, the lion's share of all the agencies. And we've moved, I think, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schapiro/the-sec-got-more-than-100-rules-to-write-under-dodd-frank-the-lion-s/) [Mary Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schapiro/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When I first began examining the global-warming scare, I found nothing more puzzling than the way officially approved scientists kept on being shown to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-booker/when-i-first-began-examining-the-global-warming-scare-i-found-nothing/) [Christopher Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-booker/) > [There is nothing that can bring you closer to fearlessness about everything else in the world than being a parent - because everyday fears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/there-is-nothing-that-can-bring-you-closer-to-fearlessness-about/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [I should have known something was wrong with my first wife. When I brought her home to meet my parents, they approved of her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-should-have-known-something-was-wrong-with-my-first-wife-when-i/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [You wouldn't want to live a life in which you are loved or approved by all people on Earth or even within your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/you-wouldn-t-want-to-live-a-life-in-which-you-are-loved-or-approved/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [That which concerns everyone must also be discussed and approved by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-verhofstadt/that-which-concerns-everyone-must-also-be-discussed-and-approved-by/) [Guy Verhofstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-verhofstadt/) > [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I think Martin Luther King would always keep track of collective insurgencies among poor and working people. He was concerned about the treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-martin-luther-king-would-always-keep-track-of-collective/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) Browse all 251 Approved quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it!..", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Approved" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5a/mark-twain-22_approved_i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent_3049754.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it!..” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I did not attend his funeral,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-did-not-attend-his-funeral-but-i-sent-a-nice-letter-saying-i/#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 } } ] } ```