P.T. Barnum

The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help themselves.

I never asked what people wanted; I told them what they needed.

Mirth is the medicine of life; it cures its ills and lightens its burdens.

When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry.

I have never been able to understand why a man should be fined because he is in a hurry.

I have been called a liar, a cheat, a humbug, and all that, but I have always been truthful in my way.

The greatest pleasure I have is in confounding the wise and puzzling the learned.

I have exhibited mermaids, but I never said they were real.

I am a showman by profession... and all the gilding shall show, and all the tin shall glitter, and all the paste shall sparkle.

The public is more easily humbugged than ever before, because it is so anxious to be humbugged.

I don't believe in taking fools by the hand, but I do believe in attracting them to my shows.

The best way to get rich is to give people what they want, and then charge them for it.

I have always made it a rule to give people more than they expect for their money.

The public wants to be humbugged, and I am the man to do it.

I am a showman, and I know how to make people stare.

The great art of money making consists in putting money at the service of the public.

I am not ashamed to say that I am a humbug. I have always appealed to the public's love of the marvelous.

The show must go on, even if the elephants are sneezing.

To be a great showman, you must first be a great observer of human nature.

I believe in advertising. I believe in plenty of it.