Always do right! This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Always do right! This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. appears in the book as a motto displayed on Harry S. Truman’s desk, a compact statement of principle whose second sentence acknowledges that doing right will not please everyone.

Appearance and Attribution

The motto was written in Mark Twain’s own hand. It occupied a small frame on Truman’s desk, distinct from the small silver frame containing a 1917 photograph of Bess that Truman had carried with him to France.

Meaning and Context

Placed among the objects in the presidential office, the motto joined a personal keepsake to the working space of the presidency. Its wording couples an imperative—doing right—with an unsentimental prediction: some people will be gratified, while others will be astonished. The line offers no promise of universal approval; instead, it makes principled conduct compatible with divided reactions.