# What is the source for the recently popular Mark Twain quote. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562 "2011-05-03T12:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/1 "2011-05-03T12:28:09Z")
“I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” - Mark Twain Ever since Sunday, I have seen this quote attributed to Mark Twain. I’m unable to find an original source for it. One person claims it is not Twain at all, but a bastardization of a quote by Clarence Darrow. “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” - Clarence Darrow ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/2 "2011-05-03T13:09:03Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” - Mark Twain > Ever since Sunday, I have seen this quote attributed to Mark Twain. I’m unable to find an original source for it. One person claims it is not Twain at all, but a bastardization of a quote by Clarence Darrow. > > “I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” - Clarence Darrow I’ve mostly seen this quote attributed to Mark Twain, but also saw one web site that had it credited to Will Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/3 "2011-05-03T14:03:52Z")
Dorothy Parker for me. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/4 "2011-05-03T14:49:12Z")
Well, it’s listed in [Darrow’s own obituary](http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0418.html) from 1938, though the list-of-quotes format is never entirely convincing to me. “Quote” _sites_ are absolute factories of perpetuating misattributions. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/5 "2011-05-03T15:14:27Z")
> [@](#): > > “I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” That quote, attributed to Mark Twain, popped up in a lot of places yesterday, as some people found themselves struggling with their feelings after the death of Osama bin Laden. If you’re against killing on principle, but still no great fan of bin Laden, the Twain quote might have seemed perfectly suited to the occasion. > > Just one problem: Twain never said it. In fact, no one ever said it in precisely that form. Matt Blum at Wired has the fact-check: the quotation actually comes from Clarence Darrow, the lawyer of Scopes Trial fame. Here’s a fuller version of the quote, which appears in Darrow’s 1932 work The Story of My Life: > > All men have an emotion to kill; when they strongly dislike some one they involuntarily wish he was dead. I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110503/ts\_atlantic/marktwaindidntsaythingaboutobituaries37279](http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110503/ts_atlantic/marktwaindidntsaythingaboutobituaries37279) i agree wholeheartedly with **spark**. Most quotation cites don’t check their quotations, and do their best to perpetuate misattribution. Look back at my posts about the supposed Plato quote about _being kind, because everyone you meet is on a great journey_. And Twain has probably had more quotes erroneously attributed to him than anyone else. The Burns book on Twain has an entire section in it devoted to “quotations” he never said. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/6 "2011-05-03T15:33:34Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > “Quote” _sites_ are absolute factories of perpetuating misattributions. I have found [www.wikiquote.org](http://www.wikiquote.org) to be pretty good for tracking down quotes. It lists the Twain quote in question under “Unsourced/Possible Fakes”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/7 "2011-05-03T15:38:25Z")
It seems that, whenever people have a clever, folksy quote and don’t know who said it, they ascribe it to Mark Twain. If they have a clever catty quote and don’t know who said it, they ascribe it to Oscar Wilde. If they have a sort-of-stupid quote and don’t know who said it, they ascribe it to Yogi Berra. If they have what they think is a profound, inspirational quote, they’ll ascribe it to Gandhi or to some Native American chief. If Twain were alive, he’d tell you (as Yogi famously did) “I didn’t really say all the things I said.” ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/8 "2011-05-03T16:24:22Z")
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine.” --Abraham Lincoln ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/9 "2011-05-03T16:36:04Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > “The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine.” --Abraham Lincoln "The trouble with the French is they don’t even have a word for ‘entrepreneur’ " - George W. Bush… My favourite misattributed quote - he never said it, but he should have. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/10 "2011-05-03T16:58:55Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > “The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine.” --Abraham Lincoln Hah! I love that one, but are you sure it wasn’t Ben Franklin who said that? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/11 "2011-05-03T17:06:02Z")
[Dork Tower](http://www.dorktower.com/images/comics/DorkTower946.gif) comments. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/12 "2011-05-03T17:17:13Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Hah! I love that one, but are you sure it wasn’t Ben Franklin who said that? No, he said: “I have had many emails from young Russian women seeking to marry a rich American, but I can never tell if they are genuine.” ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/13 "2011-05-03T18:11:02Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > No, he said: “I have had many emails from young Russian women seeking to marry a rich American, but I can never tell if they are genuine.” True, but it was Thomas Jefferson who put it best: "Dear Mr. Nigerian Prince, Your business offer intrigues me, and I would like to send you my bank account information post-haste. Right after you **kiss my ass!** What, do you think I was born but a fortnight ago? Yours, Thomas ‘2nd most badass president after Teddy Roosevelt’ Jefferson" ---
**Author:** ![jbaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/59ef9b/32.png) [@jbaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbaker)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/14 "2011-05-03T18:40:05Z")
According to the Yale Book of Quotations, Darrow said in testimony before a congressional committee on Feb. 1, 1926, “We’re all killers at heart . . . . I have never taken anybody’s life, but I have often read obituary notices with considerable satisfaction.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/15 "2011-05-04T04:17:54Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > "The trouble with the French is they don’t even have a word for ‘entrepreneur’ " - George W. Bush… > My favourite misattributed quote - he never said it, but he should have. No – he would have been unable to pronounce ‘entrepreneur’ correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/16 "2011-05-04T23:53:44Z")
[This article](http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/226912/google_date_range_filter_simplifies_search_results.html) discusses a recently popular fake Martin Luther King Jr quote, and how it was debunked. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/17 "2011-05-05T00:18:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > No – he would have been unable to pronounce ‘entrepreneur’ correctly. Now, now, let’s not misunderestimate his speaking abilities. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/18 "2011-05-05T13:28:09Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And Twain has probably had more quotes erroneously attributed to him than anyone else. The Burns book on Twain has an entire section in it devoted to “quotations” he never said. I think he’s in a race with Dorothy Parker. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/19 "2011-05-05T13:43:47Z")
“I have never killed anyone, but I have often read about some guy getting his ass taken out with great pleasure” - Oscar Wilde ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562/20 "2011-05-05T20:00:19Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Now, now, let’s not misunderestimate his speaking abilities. Shouldn’t misunderestimate mean that Bush really is that bad? You mistakenly thought you were underestimating him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-source-for-the-recently-popular-mark-twain-quote/580562.md?page=2)