H. L. Mencken

Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.

Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth--that the read more

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth--that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.

Any man who inflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.

Any man who inflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.

The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man read more

The kind of man who wants the government to adopt and enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic.

The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it read more

The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it is true because he gets pleasure out of it.