Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the Atlantic Ocean, and missing? That's the way the mind of man operates.

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes...

Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes...

There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and...

There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and...

Say what you will about the ten commandments, you must always come back to the...

Say what you will about the ten commandments, you must always come back to the...

I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs.

I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs.

A bad man is the sort who weeps every time he speaks of a good...

A bad man is the sort who weeps every time he speaks of a good...

If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries...

If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries...

For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together....

For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together....

The opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.

The opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average...

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average...

Men have a much better time of it than women. For one thing, they marry...

Men have a much better time of it than women. For one thing, they marry...

It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach,...

It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach,...

What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.

What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.

A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably...

A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably...

It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.

It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.

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

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

Temptation is a woman's weapon and man's excuse.

Temptation is a woman's weapon and man's excuse.

Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing.

Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing.

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.

Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than...

Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than...