It is hard for the ape to believe he descended from man.

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

A Sunday school is a prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience...

A Sunday school is a prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience...

A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.

A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.

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,...

For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.

For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing.

Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.

Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.

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

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

No man ever quite believes in any other man. One may believe in an idea...

No man ever quite believes in any other man. One may believe in an idea...

Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.

Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.

The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on...

The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on...

The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

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...

Man is a beautiful machine that works very badly.

Man is a beautiful machine that works very badly.

Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.

Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.

Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she...

Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she...

The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true....

The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true....

The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very...

The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very...

An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes...

An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes...

Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.

Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.

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.

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.