The exact words
“Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”Mark Twain, “New Year's Day,” Territorial Enterprise, January 1, 1863; reprinted in Early Tales and Sketches, Vol. 1 (University of California Press, 1979)
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A grumpy attack on New Year's.
A grumpy attack on New Year's.
Closer to the original
The rest of the piece is affectionate. Twain calls New Year's “a harmless annual institution” and wishes his readers to enjoy it.
The rest of the piece is affectionate. Twain calls New Year's “a harmless annual institution” and wishes his readers to enjoy it.
Timeline
- January 1, 1863Samuel Clemens, a young reporter for a Nevada mining-town newspaper, writes a short New Year's piece. A month later he starts signing his work “Mark Twain.”
- EarlierThe joke plays on an old proverb, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Use it in a speech
Mark Twain said now is the time to make your annual good resolutions, and next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. So keep yours small. Small ones make terrible paving stones.
~12 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “as usual”
Best spotwhen everyone is sharing resolutions
Questions people ask
What did Mark Twain say about New Year's resolutions?
In 1863 he wrote, “Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
Where was it published?
In the Territorial Enterprise, a newspaper in Virginia City, Nevada, on January 1, 1863.
What does “paving hell” refer to?
The proverb “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Broken resolutions are the good intentions.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLATwain, Mark. “New Year's Day,” local column, Territorial Enterprise. January 1, 1863. www.twainquotes.com/18630101bt.html.
APATwain, M. (1863). “New Year's Day,” local column, Territorial Enterprise. http://www.twainquotes.com/18630101bt.html
CHICAGOMark Twain, “New Year's Day,” local column, Territorial Enterprise, January 1, 1863.
IN TEXT (APA)(Twain, 1863)