The average man never really thinks from end to end of his life. The mental activity of such people is only a… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
Better than the rest of us, they [the Jews] sensed what was ahead for their people. — H. L. Mencken Israel Copy Share Image
Archbishop - A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ. — H. L. Mencken Archbishop Copy Share Image
Not by accident, you may be sure, do the Christian Scriptures make the father of knowledge a serpent - slimy, sneaking and… — H. L. Mencken Accidents Copy Share Image
A nun, at best, is only half a woman, just as a priest is only half a man. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
The doctrine that the cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy is like saying that the cure of crime is… — H. L. Mencken Crime Copy Share Image
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. — H. L. Mencken Humanity Copy Share Image
Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what… — H. L. Mencken Atheism Copy Share Image
The Old Testament, as everyone who has looked into it is aware, drips with blood; there is, indeed, no more bloody chronicle… — H. L. Mencken Bible Copy Share Image
The editors are committed to nothing save this: to keep common sense as fast as they can, to belabor sham as agreeably… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
Government, like any other organism, refuses to acquiesce in its own extinction. This refusal, of course, involves the resistance to any effort… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
Why assume so glibly that the God who presumably created the universe is still running it? It is certainly conceivable that He… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
On the one hand, we may tell the truth, regardless of consequences, and on the other hand we may mellow it and… — H. L. Mencken Consequence Copy Share Image
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
The chief difference between free capitalism and State socialism seems to be this: that under the former a man pursues his own… — H. L. Mencken Advantage Copy Share Image
Mankind has failed miserably in its effort to devise a rational system of government. [...] The art of government is the exclusive… — H. L. Mencken Art Copy Share Image
The truth is that the scientific value of Polar exploration is greatly exaggerated. The thing that takes men on such hazardous trips… — H. L. Mencken Adventure Copy Share Image
Here the only genuine conflict is between true believers. Of a given text in Holy Writ one faction may say this thing… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
It is often argued that religion is valuable because it makes men good, but even if this were true it would not… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
All the charming and beautiful things, from the Song of Songs, to bouillabaisse, and from the nine Beethoven symphonies to the Martini… — H. L. Mencken Alcohol Copy Share Image
It was morality that burned the books of the ancient sages, and morality that halted the free inquiry of the Golden Age… — H. L. Mencken Age Copy Share Image
Don't tell me what delusion he entertains regarding God, or what mountebank he follows in politics, or what he springs from, or… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
Consider him in his highest incarnation: the university professor. What is his function? Simply to pass on to fresh generations of numskulls… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
I am one of the few goyim who have ever actually tackled the Talmud. I suppose you now expect me to add… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
There is only one justification for having sinned, and that is to be glad of it. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't they'd be married too. — H. L. Mencken Bachelors Copy Share Image
No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
For centuries, theologians have been explaining the unknowable in terms of the-not-worth-knowing. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
There are no mute, inglorious Miltons, save in the hallucinations of poets. The one sound test of a Milton is that he… — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes the worst cigars. — H. L. Mencken Cigar Copy Share Image
Metaphysics is almost always an attempt to prove the incredible by an appeal to the unintelligible. — H. L. Mencken Agnostic Copy Share Image
Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no truth to be discovered; there is only… — H. L. Mencken Art Copy Share Image
Whenever a reporter is assigned to cover a Methodist conference, he comes home an atheist. — H. L. Mencken Atheism Copy Share Image
Well, I tell you, if I have been wrong in my agnosticism, when I die I'll walk up to God in a… — H. L. Mencken Agnostic Copy Share Image
Democracy the domination of unreflective and timorous men, moved in vast herds by mob conditions. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable. — H. L. Mencken Art Copy Share Image
There's really no point to voting. If it made any difference, it would probably be illegal. — H. L. Mencken Differences Copy Share Image
The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the… — H. L. Mencken Bill of rights Copy Share Image
![“Better than the rest of us, they [the Jews] sensed what was ahead for their people.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/159/h-l-mencken-245_israel_better-than-the-rest-of-us-they-the-jews_3199611.png)
![“Mankind has failed miserably in its effort to devise a rational system of government. [...] The art of government is the exclusive possession of quacks and frauds. It has been so since the earliest days, and it will probably remain so until the end of time.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a3e/h-l-mencken-245_art_mankind-has-failed-miserably-in-its-effo_1593851.jpg)
