{"id":31691,"date":"2018-05-31T13:17:14","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T17:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=31691"},"modified":"2020-08-14T09:10:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T13:10:55","slug":"words-of-wit-and-wisdom-by-mark-twain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/words-of-wit-and-wisdom-by-mark-twain.html","title":{"rendered":"Words of Wit and Wisdom by Mark Twain!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak searches old newspapers to find quotes from one of America\u2019s favorite writers: Mark Twain. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are interested in quoting someone, all you have to do is a Google search. Numerous websites have accumulated sayings on a wide variety of subjects, all for the taking with just a simple cut and paste. But is that all there is to it?<\/p>\n

Of course not. In virtually 100% of the cases, you\u2019re missing the how, the where and the important why those words of wisdom (or witticism) were said. So, why don\u2019t you follow the spirit of one of my research mottoes (\u201cA Quote Is Just a Quote When Taken Out of Context\u201d) and go find the background of those quotes in old newspapers.<\/p>\n

Chances are, if the quote is famous enough, it\u2019ll be in the newspapers \u2013 and chances are, you\u2019ll find a few misquotes by modern so-called historians. Take for example these quotable quotes by that great American humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), who published under the \u201cnom de plume\u201d (French for \u201cpen name\u201d) Mark Twain.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Mark Twain, by Mathew Brady, 7 February 1871. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On American Humor (1885)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twain has been quoted as mentioning that humor wakens people to a new life, but where did this quote come from? It came from a query during an 1885 interview about American taste for humor.<\/p>\n

When asked if the American taste for humor was still growing, Twain said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is born in every American, and he can\u2019t help liking it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The follow-up question was if the American style was popular in England:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes; the liking for American humor over there has become immense. It wakens the people to a new life, and is supplanting the dry wit which formerly passed for humor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Saginaw News (Saginaw, Michigan), 2 February 1885, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the Matter of Getting Older (1905)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I\u2019m going to save these Twainisms for the next time I celebrate someone\u2019s birthday. They\u2019re absolutely hilarious.<\/p>\n

While celebrating his 70th birthday at New York\u2019s Delmonico restaurant, Clemons noted that he had reached this milestone:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no permanent habits until we are 40. Then they begin to harden, presently they petrify, and then business begins. Since forty I have been regular about going to bed and getting up \u2013 and that is one of the main things. I have made it a rule to go to bed when there was not anybody left to sit up with; and I have made it a rule to get up when I had to.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield, Illinois), 6 December 1905, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Morals (1905)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this same article about his 70th birthday, you\u2019ll find this jewel:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lived a severely moral life. But it would be a mistake for other people to try it, or for me to recommend it\u2026 Morals are an acquirement \u2013 like music, like a foreign language, like piety, poker, paralysis \u2013 no man is born with them. I wasn\u2019t myself. I started poor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On Smoking (1905)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also included was Twain\u2019s comment on smoking:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have made it a rule never to smoke more than one cigar at a time. I have no other restrictions as regards smoking\u2026 As an example to others, and not that I care for moderation myself, it has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep, and never to refrain when awake.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On Drinking (1905)<\/strong><\/p>\n

One final quote from the above newspaper article:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for drinking, I have no rule about that. When others drink I like to help; otherwise I remain dry, by habit and preference.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On Spelling in Newspapers (1906)<\/strong><\/p>\n

While speaking to the Associated Press, Twain made an impassioned plea to simplify spelling in newspapers. You can almost hear the audience roar at these witticisms:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe \u2013 only two \u2013 the sun in the heavens and the Associated Press down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall soon be where they won\u2019t care how I spell as long as I keep the Sabbath.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
Evening Tribune (San Diego, California), 20 September 1906, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Viewing the Kilauea Volcano (1866)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not everything Twain said was humorous, although it usually felt literary. In 1866, after visiting Hawaii, he described his visit to the Kilauea Volcano (spelled Kileana in the article):<\/p>\n

\u201cSitting on the edge of the crater you might better appreciate the orthodox perdition than from the most glowing description of the eminent divines.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California), 11 December 1866, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why Did Clemens Choose the Pen Name \u201cMark Twain\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you Google \u201cMark Twain,\u201d various commonly posed questions arise, including the one of why the nickname was chosen.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t able to find an article describing his pen name in his own words, but all the online articles agree on his love of riverboats. Clemens was once a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River.<\/p>\n

The most commonly cited reason for his pen name is related to riverboats: when they were in fear of going aground, riverboats used a sounding line marked at intervals of a fathom (six feet) to measure the depth. \u201cTwain\u201d is an old term for \u201ctwo,\u201d so when the people measuring cried out \u201cmark twain,\u201d they were indicating there were two fathoms, or 12 feet, of water under the boat \u2013 a safe enough depth for the boat to continue.<\/p>\n

Before Clemens adopted this riverboat phrase for literary purposes, you can find references that put this term into context.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Memphis Daily Eagle and Enquirer (Memphis, Tennessee), 26 January 1854, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was unable to find a direct quote on why Clemens chose this phrase for his pen name, but my theory is that he found humor in a term that kept boats from hitting rock bottom \u2013 perhaps a sly, self-deprecating reference to his own writing.<\/p>\n

Research Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

To enrich your summer experience, here\u2019s a research challenge: search old newspapers to find more quotes by Mark Twain. The ones I\u2019ve chosen for this blog article are just the tip of the iceberg compared to what is still out there!<\/p>\n

Research Tip:<\/em><\/strong> To find more Mark Twain quotes, try searches using these keywords or something similar:<\/p>\n