The opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.

Quote by H L Mencken

Topics: H L Mencken Quotes

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...

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...

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average...

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average...

The chief contribution of Protestantism to human thought is its massive proof that God is...

The chief contribution of Protestantism to human thought is its massive proof that God is...

Every man is his own hell.

Every man is his own hell.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.

Historian: an unsuccessful novelist.

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.

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...

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please...

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please...

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....

Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.

Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.

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...

Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than...

Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than...

The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

The cynics are right nine times out of ten.

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...

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 urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to...

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to...

Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that...

Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that...

Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the...

Have you ever watched a crab on the shore crawling backward in search of the...