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

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

Temptation is an irresistible force at work on a movable body.

Temptation is an irresistible force at work on a movable body.

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....

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...

Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity...

Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity...

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...

It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from...

It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from...

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...

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...

To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would...

To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would...

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...

Each party steals so many articles of faith from the other, and the candidates spend...

Each party steals so many articles of faith from the other, and the candidates spend...

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

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

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.

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

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

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...

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

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

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

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.

Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque...

Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque...

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...