Quotes from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
17 notable lines from Mark Twain · 1876
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it — namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
Narrator Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Narrator, Ch. 2 Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Narrator Like it? Well, I don't see why I oughtn't to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?
Tom Sawyer to Ben Rogers, Ch. 2 Yes, she's awful particular about this fence; it's got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain't one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it's got to be done.
Tom Sawyer, Ch. 2 Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.
Narrator, on the Sunday-school exercises, Ch. 5 The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.
Narrator They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever.
Narrator, on Tom and Joe playing Robin Hood, Ch. 8 There comes a time in every rightly-constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.
Narrator, Ch. 25 To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing.
Narrator, on Tom and the Cadets of Temperance, Ch. 22 When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop—that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can.
Narrator, Conclusion He was not the Model Boy of the village. He knew the model boy very well though—and loathed him.
Narrator, introducing Tom, Ch. 1 Huck was always willing to take a hand in any enterprise that offered entertainment and required no capital, for he had a troublesome superabundance of that sort of time which is not money.
Narrator, on Huckleberry Finn, Ch. 25 Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good Book says.
Aunt Polly, Ch. 1 Tom, it don't make no difference. I ain't everybody, and I can't stand it.
Huckleberry Finn, Ch. 35 Whithersoever he turned, the bars and shackles of civilization shut him in and bound him hand and foot.
Narrator, on Huck living with the Widow Douglas, Ch. 35