Mr. Holbrook and Mr. Clemens

 I'm from Missouri, so you'll have to show me that Mark Twain was not a great American philosopher (and Hal Holbrook his Boswell).

 

Hal Holbrook, who carved out a substantial acting career in television and film but who achieved his widest acclaim onstage, embodying Mark Twain in all his craggy splendor and vinegary wit in a one-man show seen around the world, died on Jan. 23 at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 95... nyt

• I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.
• A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
• Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
• Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.
• Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.
• I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
• The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.
• Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
• Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
• Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.
• If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
• Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
• The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
• The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
• I did not attend his funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.
• The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.