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

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

A church is a place in which gentlemen who have never been to heaven brag...

A church is a place in which gentlemen who have never been to heaven brag...

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

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

Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends.

Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends.

To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia -...

To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia -...

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.

We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine.

We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine.

Adultery is the application of democracy to love.

Adultery is the application of democracy to love.

I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved which...

I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved which...

It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined...

It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined...

I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing.

I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing.

There are men so philosophical that they can see humor in their own toothaches. But...

There are men so philosophical that they can see humor in their own toothaches. But...

Morality is the theory that every human act must be either right or wrong, and...

Morality is the theory that every human act must be either right or wrong, and...

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to...

Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to...

A man always remembers his first love with special tenderness, but after that he begins...

A man always remembers his first love with special tenderness, but after that he begins...

Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.

Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.

Communism, like any other revealed religion, is largely made up of prophecies.

Communism, like any other revealed religion, is largely made up of prophecies.

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think...

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think...

I never lecture, not because I am shy or a bad speaker, but simply because...

I never lecture, not because I am shy or a bad speaker, but simply because...