It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach, but idealism. Men get into trouble by taking their visions and hallucinations too seriously.

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.

Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.

I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough...

I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough...

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....

Before a man speaks it is always safe to assume that he is a fool....

Before a man speaks it is always safe to assume that he is a fool....

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...

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.

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of...

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of...

Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no...

Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no...

Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another.

Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another.

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...

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.

Judge: a law student who marks his own examination-papers.

Judge: a law student who marks his own examination-papers.

A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is...

A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is...

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...

When women kiss it always reminds one of prize-fighters shaking hands.

When women kiss it always reminds one of prize-fighters shaking hands.

Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what sting is justice.

Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what sting is justice.

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.

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...

Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived

Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover...

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover...