Cost Quote by H. L. Mencken
“It costs more to maintain ten vices than one virtue.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The American Language, 1919
Maintaining many bad habits costs more than cultivating a single good one.
In simple terms: Bad habits are expensive; virtue is cheap.
Key Takeaway
Focus on one virtue.
Themes
ethics
economics
self‑control
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
advice
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal finance
- health
- relationships
- career development
Key Concepts
cost‑benefit analysis
habit formation
Questions to Reflect On
- Which vice costs you most?
- Can one virtue outweigh many flaws?
A Different Perspective
Virtue alone may not offset the cost of many vices.
![“By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f46/h-l-mencken-245_absolutely-nothing_by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-h_5368.jpg)
![“[Photography is ] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that could be happening, to some degree, with photography, too. It doesn't cost as much to do it, either.” quote by Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2eb/garry-winogrand-2342_cost_photography-is-likewise-even-french-impr_2802.jpg)
