MARK TWAIN, A BIOGRAPHY By Albert Bigelow Paine COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
VOLUME II, Part 1: 1875-1886
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MARK TWAIN AT FORTY
In conversation with John Hay, Hay said to Clemens:
"A man reaches the zenith at forty, the top of the hill. From that time forward he begins to descend. If you have any great undertaking ahead, begin it now. You will never be so capable again."
Of course this was only a theory of Hay's, a rule where rules do not