P. T. Barnum
Full Name: Phineas Taylor Barnum
Birthdate: July 5, 1810
Birthplace: Bethel, Connecticut, USA
Date of Death: April 7, 1891
Occupation: Showman
Profile: Best known for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum
Number of Quotes: 36
A human soul, that God has created
and Christ died for,
is not to be
trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hottentot - it is still an immortal spirit.
A lovely nook of forest scenery, or a grand rock, like a beautiful woman, depends for much of its
attractiveness upon the attendance sense of freedom from whatever is low; upon a sense of purity and of romance.
Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land—it largely increases the product.
As a general thing, I have not duped the world
nor attempted to do so... I have generally given people the worth of their money twice told.
Clowns are the pegs on which the circus is hung.
Comfort is the enemy of progress.
Reflecting his belief in the necessity of effort and ambition.
Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you.
From his writings on tolerance and civility.
Every crowd has a silver lining.
Relates to his philosophy of monetizing public gatherings, especially in his circus career.
Every man should make his son or daughter learn some useful trade or profession, so that in these days of
changing fortunes of being rich today and poor tomorrow they may have something tangible to fall back upon. This
provision might save many persons from misery, who by some unexpected turn of fortune have lost all their means.
Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.
He who is without a newspaper is cut off from his species.
How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?
In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at all difficult for persons in good health to make money.
Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.
Medicine is the means by which we poor feeble creatures try to keep from dying or aching.
Men, women, and children who cannot live on gravity alone need something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods
and hours, and he who ministers to this want is, in my opinion, in a business established by the Creator of our nature.
If he worthily fulfills his mission and amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived in vain.
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.
From his book The Art of Money Getting (1880), emphasizing financial prudence.
Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master.
No man has a right to expect to succeed in life unless he understands his business, and nobody can
understand his business thoroughly unless he learns it by personal application and experience.
Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or
your employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.
Stresses the importance of interpersonal skills in commerce.
Politics and government are certainly among the most important of practical human interests.
Science is the pursuit of pure truth, and the systematizing of it.
The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves.
The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also
the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.
The noblest art is that of making others happy.
Highlights his focus on entertainment and joy as a societal good.
The public is more disposed to be amused than excited.
Reflects his understanding of audience psychology.
The show business has all phases and grades of dignity, from the exhibition of a monkey to the exposition of that
highest art in music or the drama which secures for the gifted artists a world-wide fame princes well might envy.
There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the street to-day, and
another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do so once in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liable to lose it as to find it.
There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt.
There's a sucker born every minute.
Often attributed to Barnum, but no definitive evidence exists. Likely misattributed to him by critics or competitors.
To me there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter.
From his autobiography, emphasizing his sentimental side.
True economy consists in always making the income exceed the out-go. Wear the old clothes a little longer
if necessary; dispense with the new pair of gloves; mend the old dress: live on plainer food if need be; so that,
under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income.
Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar
genius, he cannot succeed. I am glad to believe that the majority of persons do find their right vocation.
Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not
leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.
Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.
Without promotion something terrible happens... Nothing!
Highlights his marketing philosophy and belief in aggressive promotion.
Last on Earth
