Among the three or four million cradles now rocking in the land are some which this nation would preserve for ages as sacred things, if we could know which ones they are.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Twain notes that among millions of children, some are destined for greatness but cannot be identified beforehand.
- In plain terms
- Future leaders are born among ordinary children but can't be spotted early.
- What can you take from it?
- Treat all children with equal care since potential is hidden.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we value potential we cannot see?
Another view
Not every child becomes historically significant.
More from Mark Twain
We haven't all had the good fortune to be ladies; we haven't all been generals, or poets, or statesmen; but when the toast works down to the babies, we stand o…
Permalink to quote #16 We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that the savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that mat…
Permalink to quote #18 The funniest things are the forbidden.
Permalink to quote #15
Related quotes
I never met anyone who didn't have a very smart child. What happens to these children, you wonder, when they reach adulthood?
Fran LebowitzFran Lebowitz quote #1 In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.
Earl WarrenEarl Warren quote #15 We doubt not the destiny of our country - that she is to accomplish great things for human nature, and be the mother of a nobler race than the world has yet kn…
Margaret FullerMargaret Fuller quote #17