“Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when God was tired.”
- November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910
- American
- Author, humorist, and lecturer
- Wrote masterpieces such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” and had a major influence on American literature
Quote
“Man was made at the end of the week’s work, when God was tired.”
Explanation
Mark Twain’s quote humorously suggests that humankind is the result of a more careless or exhausted effort by God after a full week of creation. The humor comes from the ironic implication that, by the time God created man, He was so tired from all the hard work of making the earth, the animals, and the universe that He didn’t put as much effort into creating humans. Twain’s comment paints a lighthearted and self-deprecating view of human nature, as if to say that we are a less refined or imperfect creation, the result of divine fatigue rather than the pinnacle of perfection.
Twain often used humor to comment on human nature, and in this case, he is mocking the idea of human self-importance. By suggesting that we were created at the end of the week, after all the heavy lifting had been done, Twain emphasizes how humans often view themselves as the center of creation, while he humorously suggests we are, in fact, just a product of divine exhaustion—not the grand culmination of God’s work, but a creation made in a state of tiredness.
In modern terms, this quote speaks to the humility we should have when reflecting on human nature and our place in the world. Whether in spiritual reflection or discussions about human flaws, Twain’s words encourage us to not take ourselves too seriously, recognizing that imperfection is part of what makes us human, and that maybe, just maybe, we are not the perfect creation we sometimes imagine ourselves to be.
