"Crowds stand around all day long and..." - Quote by Mark Twain

Crowds stand around all day long and criticise that bridge, and find fault with it, and tell with unlimited frankness how it ought to have been planned, and how they would have built it had the city granted them the $14,000 it cost. It is really refreshing to hang around these and listen to them. A foreigner would come to the conclusion that all America was composed of inspired professional bridge builders.
Image for the quote by Mark Twain: Crowds stand around all day long and criticise that bridge, and find fault with it, and tell with un...

More by Mark Twain

“When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.”
— Mark Twain
“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”
— Mark Twain
“If everyone was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.”
— Mark Twain

More on Criticism

“One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.”
— Jane Austen
“He charged nothing for his preaching and it was worth it too.”
— Mark Twain
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.

More on Public Opinion

“Public opinion in this country is everything.”
— Abraham Lincoln
“I am entirely persuaded that the agitations of the public mind advance its powers, and that at every vibration between the points of liberty and despotism, something will be gained for the former. As men become better informed, their rulers must respect them the more.”
— Thomas Jefferson
“It is rare that the public sentiment decides immorally or unwisely, and the individual who differs from it ought to distrust and examine well his own opinion.”
— Thomas Jefferson