I was born modest; not all over, but in spots; and this was one of the spots.
Book 1889
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court quotes
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About the book
Hank Morgan, a practical-minded factory superintendent from 19th-century Connecticut, is knocked out in a fight and wakes up in sixth-century England at the court of King Arthur. Using his modern know-how, he rises to power as "The Boss" and sets out to bring industry, schools, newspapers and democracy to a land of knights, magic and superstition. Twain's comic time-travel satire takes aim at monarchy, the aristocracy, established religion and blind faith in tradition.
7 quotes
The first thing you want in a new country, is a patent office; then work up your school system; and after that, out with your paper. A newspaper has its faults, and plenty of them, but no matter, it's hark from the tomb for a dead nation, and don't you forget…
You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are…
Training — training is everything; training is all there is to a person. We speak of nature; it is folly; there is no such thing as nature; what we call by that misleading name is merely heredity and training. We have no thoughts of our own, no opinions of our…
There were two “Reigns of Terror,” if we would but remember it and consider it; the one wrought murder in hot passion, the other in heartless cold blood; the one lasted mere months, the other had lasted a thousand years; the one inflicted death upon ten…
Unlimited power is the ideal thing when it is in safe hands. The despotism of heaven is the one absolutely perfect government. An earthly despotism would be the absolutely perfect earthly government, if the conditions were the same, namely, the despot the…
Words realize nothing, vivify nothing to you, unless you have suffered in your own person the thing which the words try to describe.