Top 80 P.T. Barnum Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “Politics and government are certainly among the most important of practical human interests.”

— P.T. Barnum

52. “Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public.”

— P.T. Barnum

53. “The orthodox faith painted God as a revengeful being, and yet people talk about loving such a being.”

— P.T. Barnum

54. “Dr. Franklin says “it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not care for fine clothes or furniture.”

— P.T. Barnum

55. “True economy consists in always making the income exceed the outgo.”

— P.T. Barnum

56. “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.”

— P.T. Barnum

57. “The desire for wealth is nearly universal, and none can say it is not laudable, provided the possessor of it accepts its responsibilities, and uses it as a friend to humanity.”

— P.T. Barnum

58. “The common man, no matter how sharp and tough, actually enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes, and makes it easier for the puller.”

— P.T. Barnum

59. “The wonders of the ages assembled for your edification, education and enjoyment – for a price.”

— P.T. Barnum

60. “Advertising is to a genuine article what manure is to land, – it largely increases the product.”

— P.T. Barnum

61. “There is no class of people in the world, who have such good memories as creditors.”

— P.T. Barnum

62. “The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves. Promiscuous almsgiving, without inquiring into the worthiness of the applicant, is bad in every sense. But to search out and quietly assist those who are struggling for themselves, is the kind that “scattereth and yet increaseth.”

— P.T. Barnum

63. “Remember the proverb of Solomon: “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”

— P.T. Barnum

64. “I will loose my camel, and trust it to God!” “No, no, not so,” said the prophet, “tie thy camel, and trust it to God!”

— P.T. Barnum

65. “Advertising is like learning – a little is a dangerous thing.”

— P.T. Barnum

66. “Writing lives forever, while you may not.”

— P.T. Barnum

67. “I would rather hear the pleased laugh of a child over some feature of my exhibition than receive as I did the flattering compliments of the Prince of Wales.”

— P.T. Barnum

68. “The history of money-getting, which is commerce, is a history of civilization, and wherever trade has flourished most, there, too, have art and science produced the noblest fruits. In fact, as a general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To them, in a great measure, are we indebted for our institutions of learning and of art, our academies, colleges, and churches.”

— P.T. Barnum

69. “Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done.”

— P.T. Barnum

70. “The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenial to his tastes.”

— P.T. Barnum

71. “He who is without a newspaper is cut off from his species.”

— P.T. Barnum

72. “The plan of “counting the chickens before they are hatched” is an error of ancient date, but it does not seem to improve by age.”

— P.T. Barnum

73. “Instead of spending money, I earned it.”

— P.T. Barnum

74. “The possession of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in order to insure success.”

— P.T. Barnum

75. “The greatest humbug of all is the man who believes – or pretends to believe – that everything and everybody are humbugs.”

— P.T. Barnum

76. “No profession, trade, or calling, is overcrowded in the upper story.”

— P.T. Barnum

77. “If I was not a remarkably modest man, I should probably brag a little, and say that I had done what no American ever before accomplished by visiting the queen at her palace twice within eight days.”

— P.T. Barnum

78. “But however mysterious is nature, however ignorant the doctor, however imperfect the present state of physical science, the patronage and the success of quacks and quackeries are infinitely more wonderful than those of honest and laborious men of science and their careful experiments.”

— P.T. Barnum

79. “I think it is conceded that I generally do pretty big things as a manager, am audacious in my outlays and risks, give much for little money, and make my shows worthy the support of the moral and refined classes.”

— P.T. Barnum

80. “The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.”

— P.T. Barnum

81. “Small does of advertising result in nothing, obviously. It’s like giving a sick person half the medicine he needs. It just causes more suffering. Give the whole dose, and the cure will be certain and decisive.”

— P.T. Barnum

82. “Witchcraft is one of the most baseless, absurd, disgusting and silly of all the humbugs.”

— P.T. Barnum

83. “Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt.”

— P.T. Barnum

84. “We agreed that many a human life is sacrificed in sudden anger, because one or both the parties carry deadly weapons.”

— P.T. Barnum

85. “I never liked to work, I mean manual work.”

— P.T. Barnum

86. “I risked much, but I made much.”

— P.T. Barnum

87. “The public very properly shun all whose integrity is doubted. No matter how polite and pleasant and accommodating a man may be, none of us dare to deal with him if we suspect “false weights and measures.”

— P.T. Barnum

88. “In fact, as a general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race.”

— P.T. Barnum

89. “Medicine is the means by which we poor feeble creatures try to keep from dying or aching.”

— P.T. Barnum