It is a dear and lovely disposition, and a most valuable one, that can brush away indignities and discourtesies and seek and find the pleasanter features of an experience.
- Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, (2010)

That optimist of yours is always ready to turn hell's backyard into a play-ground.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.
- More Maxims of Mark, Merle Johnson, 1927

At 50 a man can be an ass without being an optimist but not an optimist without being an ass.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

...fry me an optimist for breakfast.
- Letter to T. B. Aldrich, 21 Dec 1901

Optimist: person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness.
- More Maxims of Mark, Merle Johnson, 1927

The pulpit and the optimist are always talking about the human race's steady march toward ultimate perfection. As usual, they leave out the statistics. It is the pulpit's way -- the optimist's way.
- Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 2 (2013)

Optimist: day dreamer more elegantly spelled.
- More Maxims of Mark, Merle Johnson, 1927

Optimist: day-dreamer in his small clothes.
- More Maxims of Mark, Merle Johnson, 1927

Read McBride's story about Sam Clemens, Franklin Whitmore and this portrait.