H. L. Mencken quotes - page 8

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable. (H. L. Mencken)
Freedom of press is limited to those who own one. View quote
H. L. Mencken
If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Most people want security in this world, not liberty. View quote
H. L. Mencken
What men value in this world is not rights but privileges. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful. View quote
H. L. Mencken
It is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Love is an emotion that is based on an opinion of women that is impossible for those who have had any experience with them. (H. L. Mencken)
When a new source of taxation is found it never means, in practice, that the old source is abandoned. It merely means that the politicians have two ways of milking the taxpayer where they had one before. View quote
H. L. Mencken
No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average woman of forty-eight. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Man is always looking for someone to boast to; woman is always looking for a shoulder to put her head on. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Archbishop - A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Communism, like any other revealed religion, is largely made up of prophecies. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The only cure for contempt is counter-contempt. View quote
H. L. Mencken
In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft. View quote
H. L. Mencken
Temptation is a woman's weapon and man's excuse. (H. L. Mencken)
One may no more live in the world without picking up the moral prejudices of the world than one will be able to go to hell without perspiring. View quote
H. L. Mencken
A politician is an animal that can sit on the fence and keep both ears to the ground. View quote
H. L. Mencken
The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line. View quote
H. L. Mencken
There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend to be noticeably silly. View quote
H. L. Mencken