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

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

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

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

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...

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.

In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for;...

In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for;...

Time stays, we go.

Time stays, we go.

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...

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,...

Poetry has done enough when it charms, but prose must also convince.

Poetry has done enough when it charms, but prose must also convince.

I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe...

I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe...

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...

Whenever a husband and wife begin to discuss their marriage they are giving evidence at...

Whenever a husband and wife begin to discuss their marriage they are giving evidence at...

Women always excel men in that sort of wisdom which comes from experience. To be...

Women always excel men in that sort of wisdom which comes from experience. To be...

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.

Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

There is always an easy solution to every problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.

There is always an easy solution to every problem - neat, plausible, and wrong.

The truth that survives is simply the lie that is pleasantest to believe.

The truth that survives is simply the lie that is pleasantest to believe.

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...

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.

Man is a beautiful machine that works very badly.

Man is a beautiful machine that works very badly.

The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than...

The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than...