Henry James would… H. L. Mencken
Henry James would have been vastly improved as a novelist by a few whiffs of the Chicago stockyard.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
April 6th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Adultery is the… H. L. Mencken
Adultery is the application of democracy to love.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
March 16th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
It is now quite… H. L. Mencken
It is now quite lawful for a Catholic woman to avoid pregnancy by a resort to mathematics, though she is still forbidden to resort to physics or chemistry.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
February 4th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Marriage is a… H. L. Mencken
Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
February 3rd, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Opera in English… H. L. Mencken
Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
January 27th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
It is even harder… H. L. Mencken
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
January 23rd, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
We are here and it… H. L. Mencken
We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
January 17th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Jury: a group of… H. L. Mencken
Jury: a group of twelve men who, having lied to the judge about their hearing, health and business engagements, have failed to fool him.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
January 14th, 2008 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The basic fact… H. L. Mencken
The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 22nd, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Every man is… H. L. Mencken
Every man is thoroughly happy twice in his life: just after he has met his first love, and just after he has left his last one.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 9th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
It is even harder… H. L. Mencken
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 1st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The capacity of… H. L. Mencken
The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
November 28th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
A good politician… H. L. Mencken
A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
November 17th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Under democracy one… H. L. Mencken
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 28th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
A man always… H. L. Mencken
A man always remembers his first love with special tenderness, but after that he begins to bunch them.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 25th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Immorality: the… H. L. Mencken
Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 14th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Puritanism is the… H. L. Mencken
Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 10th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Theology is the… H. L. Mencken
Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 1st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
College football… H. L. Mencken
College football would be more interesting if the faculty played instead of the students - there would be a great increase in broken arms, legs and necks.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
September 15th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Say what you will… H. L. Mencken
Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
September 1st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
God is the… H. L. Mencken
God is the immemorial refuge of the incompetent, thehelpless, the miserable. They find not only sanctuary in His arms, but also a kind of superiority, soothing to their macerated egos; He will set them above their betters.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 30th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
In this world of… H. L. Mencken
In this world of sin and sorrow, there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 26th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Thanksgiving Day is… H. L. Mencken
Thanksgiving Day is a day devoted by persons with inflammatory rheumatism to thanking a loving Father that it is not hydrophobia.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 21st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Democracy is the… H. L. Mencken
Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 13th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Conscience is a… H. L. Mencken
Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 10th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Self-respect: the… H. L. Mencken
Self-respect: the secure feeling that no one, as yet, is suspicious.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 2nd, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Archbishop: a… H. L. Mencken
Archbishop: a Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 1st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The worshiper is… H. L. Mencken
The worshiper is the father of the gods.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 31st, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The cosmos is a… H. L. Mencken
The cosmos is a gigantic flywheel making 10,000 revolutions per minute. Man is a sick fly taking a dizzy ride on it.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 27th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
An idealist is one… H. L. Mencken
An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 25th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The chief value of… H. L. Mencken
The chief value of money lies in the fact that one lives in a world in which it is overestimated.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 24th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The penalty for… H. L. Mencken
The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 15th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
There is always an… H. L. Mencken
There is always an easy solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.
H. L. Mencken, A Mencken Chrestomathy
US editor (1880 - 1956)
July 9th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
It is hard to… H. L. Mencken
It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
June 10th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The chief… H. L. Mencken
The chief contribution of Protestantism to human thought is its massive proof that God is a bore.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
June 8th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
If I had my way,… H. L. Mencken
If I had my way, any man guilty of golf would be ineligible for any office of trust in the United States.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
June 5th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
I believe that all… H. L. Mencken
I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
May 5th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Puritanism: The… H. L. Mencken
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
April 22nd, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
All men are frauds…. H. L. Mencken
All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
March 26th, 2007 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
A judge is a law… H. L. Mencken
A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 27th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
New York: A… H. L. Mencken
New York: A third-rate Babylon.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 15th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The best years are… H. L. Mencken
The best years are the forties; after fifty a man begins to deteriorate, but in the forties he is at the maximum of his villainy.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 5th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Creator: a comedian… H. L. Mencken
Creator: a comedian whose audience is afraid to laugh.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
December 2nd, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Imagine the Creator… H. L. Mencken
Imagine the Creator as a low comedian, and at once the world becomes explicable.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
November 1st, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Husbands never… H. L. Mencken
Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 22nd, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Wife: a former… H. L. Mencken
Wife: a former sweetheart.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 9th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Democracy: The… H. L. Mencken
Democracy: The worship of jackals by jackasses.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
October 2nd, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
Wife: one who is… H. L. Mencken
Wife: one who is sorry she did it, but would undoubtedly do it again.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
September 15th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
A cynic is a man… H. L. Mencken
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
September 6th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments
The most common of… H. L. Mencken
The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.
H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
August 26th, 2006 - Posted in H. L. Mencken | | 0 Comments