--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never wished a man dead, but I have…" description: "\"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png" --- # I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some… ![“I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png) > “I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” [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. The speaker admits a dark pleasure in others’ misfortunes, reflecting a conflicted moral stance. **In simple terms:** Enjoying others’ downfalls is a twisted feeling. Key Takeaway Recognize and curb schadenfreude. Themes morality schadenfreude humor Mood reflective humorous critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - social interactions - media consumption - personal reflection Key Concepts ethical conflict human nature emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes relish others’ failures? - How can we cultivate compassion instead? A Different Perspective Such feelings can harm empathy and relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Obituaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obituaries/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-have-never-killed-a-man-but-i-have-read-many-obituaries-with-great/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [My father always read obituaries to me out loud, not because he was maudlin or morbid, but because they were mini biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-paxton/my-father-always-read-obituaries-to-me-out-loud-not-because-he-was/) [Bill Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-paxton/) > [“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with a lot of pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-have-never-killed-a-man-but-i-have-read-many-obituaries-with-a-lot/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“(Perhaps we all should be so lucky to read our own obituaries…)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/perhaps-we-all-should-be-so-lucky-to-read-our-own-obituaries/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“I used to read the obituaries to gloat over all the people I've outlived, but now I don't think it matters, we all live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kjersti-annesdatter-skomsvold/i-used-to-read-the-obituaries-to-gloat-over-all-the-people-i-ve/) Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold > [The first thing you should do when you get up is read the obituaries. You never know when you'll see a name that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-james-salisbury/the-first-thing-you-should-do-when-you-get-up-is-read-the-obituaries/) Edward James Salisbury > [It's a great pleasure to be linked to such a great club like Tottenham.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulinho/it-s-a-great-pleasure-to-be-linked-to-such-a-great-club-like-tottenham/) [Paulinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulinho/) > [I take great pleasure, every day, in seeing my work deeply rooted in our native soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/i-take-great-pleasure-every-day-in-seeing-my-work-deeply-rooted-in/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Doing nothing gives me great pleasure. And believe me, I succeed wonderfully in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-gives-me-great-pleasure-and-believe-me-i-succeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A popular Harvard business professor urged his students to read the obituaries in the New York Times before they read anything else, in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-f-doriot/a-popular-harvard-business-professor-urged-his-students-to-read-the/) Georges F. Doriot > [I scrolled on down to the obituaries. I usually read the obituaries first as there is always the happy chance that one of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-scrolled-on-down-to-the-obituaries-i-usually-read-the-obituaries/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When I read obituaries I always note the age of the deceased. Automatically I relate this figure to my own age. Four years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/when-i-read-obituaries-i-always-note-the-age-of-the-deceased/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Read obituaries. They are just like biographies, only shorter. They remind us that interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wheelan/read-obituaries-they-are-just-like-biographies-only-shorter-they/) [Charles Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wheelan/) > [I don't listen to the news. I don't read the newspaper unless it's eccentric information - and the obituaries, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-don-t-listen-to-the-news-i-don-t-read-the-newspaper-unless-it-s/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [It's not the loss of life that makes the death bitter -- it's the obituaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/it-s-not-the-loss-of-life-that-makes-the-death-bitter-it-s-the/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) ## 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 Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have-read-some-obituaries-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have-read-some-obituaries-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38e/mark-twain-22_death_i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have_151288.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” — 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've never wished a man dead,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have-read-some-obituaries-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-ve-never-wished-a-man-dead-but-i-have-read-some-obituaries-with/#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 } } ] } ```