Man is kind enough when he's not excited by religion, but once the holy holies have got a grip on him he's capable of almost anything. When a disciple from the wildcat religious asylum comes marching forth, get under the bed. It doesn't matter whether he's a Christian, Hindu, Jew, or Muslim. If he's made up his mind that you need reforming, he will do it with anything handy—an ax, eight hundred years of witch burning or, if necessary, he'll blow you up.

About Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He has been praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature". Twain's novels include...

More quotations from Mark Twain

Golf is a good walk spoiled.

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All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.

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Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

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Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same size.

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Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.

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expectations weather climate

History

12 Apr 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Man is kind enough when he's not excited by religion, but once the holy holies have got a grip on him he's capable of almost anything. When a disciple from the wildcat religious asylum comes marching forth, get under the bed. It doesn't matter whether he's a Christian, Hindu, Jew, or Muslim. If he's made up his mind that you need reforming, he will do it with anything handy — an ax, eight hundred years of witch burning or, if necessary, he'll blow you up.