H. L. Mencken ( 10 of 103 )
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it were not for this penalty, the read more
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation read more
The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.
No one in this world, so far as I know- and I have researched the records for years, and employed read more
No one in this world, so far as I know- and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me- has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.
We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense and to the extent that we respect read more
We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.
Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she read more
Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward, and you will have the truth about him. -H.L. Mencken.
The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-by read more
The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-by to the Bill of Rights.
Imagine the Creator as a low comedian, and at once the world becomes explicable.
Imagine the Creator as a low comedian, and at once the world becomes explicable.
One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.
One horse-laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms. It is not only more effective; it is also vastly more intelligent.
