--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A Puritan is someone who is desperately…" description: "\"A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.\" — H. L. Mencken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/h-l-mencken-245_afraid_a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately_1607837.png" --- # A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that… ![“A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/h-l-mencken-245_afraid_a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately_1607837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/h-l-mencken-245_afraid_a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately_1607837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4a/h-l-mencken-245_afraid_a-puritan-is-someone-who-is-desperately_1607837.png) > “A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.” [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Puritans fear others enjoying life, reflecting deep insecurity. **In simple terms:** Puritans are insecure about others' joy. Key Takeaway Recognize fear behind moral judgments. Themes religion insecurity social critique Mood critical analytical Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - social commentary - historical analysis - psychology - literary criticism Key Concepts cultural anxiety moral hypocrisy Questions to Reflect On - What drives moral anxiety? - How does fear shape judgment? A Different Perspective Not all moral concerns stem from fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Afraid Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-having-1544432/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Colony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/) [Desperately Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperately-afraid-3948839/) [Good times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-times/) [Having a good time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-a-good-time/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Puritan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritan/) [Puritan Desperately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritan-desperately-6126125/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“They were like adolescents, desperately afraid of surrendering the very attitudes they were trying to kill off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-navarette/they-were-like-adolescents-desperately-afraid-of-surrendering-the/) [Susan J. Navarette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-j-navarette/) > [I spent 24 years in the closet wanting to talk so desperately about who I was and what I am but too afraid to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-spent-24-years-in-the-closet-wanting-to-talk-so-desperately-about/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [ The \[nineteenth-century\] young men who were Puritans in politics were anti-Puritans in literature. They were willing to die for the independence of Poland or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-nineteenth-century-young-men-who-were-puritans-in-politics-were/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“A Puritan is not against bullfighting because of the pain it gives the bull, but because of the pleasure it gives the spectators.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/a-puritan-is-not-against-bullfighting-because-of-the-pain-it-gives/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [The Puritans removed organs and paintings from churches, but bought them for private use in their homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-removed-organs-and-paintings-from-churches-but-bought/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“Too much of the old Puritan spirit exists in these parts to the present hour; but its influence has not tended, that I know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/too-much-of-the-old-puritan-spirit-exists-in-these-parts-to-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The English Puritans pulled down church and state to rebuild Zion on the ruins, and all the while it was not Zion, but America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-english-puritans-pulled-down-church-and-state-to-rebuild-zion-on/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [My brothers and sister and I were brought up in an atmosphere which I would describe as 'Puritan decadence'. Puritanism names the behaviour which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/my-brothers-and-sister-and-i-were-brought-up-in-an-atmosphere-which-i/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-puritans-left-england-for-america-not-because-they-couldn-t-be/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [A puritan is such a one as loves God with all his soul, but hates his neighbor with all his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nicolson/a-puritan-is-such-a-one-as-loves-god-with-all-his-soul-but-hates-his/) [Adam Nicolson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nicolson/) > [The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-puritan-hated-bear-baiting-not-because-it-gave-pain-to-the-bear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) > [The Puritans came to America to worship in their way and to force everybody else to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/the-puritans-came-to-america-to-worship-in-their-way-and-to-force/) [Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by H. L. Mencken > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. 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They get pleasure out of the conversation of children in arms and men in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/women-have-simple-tastes-they-get-pleasure-out-of-the-conversation-of/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The critic, to interpret his artist, even to understand his artist, must be able to get into the mind of his artist; he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-critic-to-interpret-his-artist-even-to-understand-his-artist-must/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-the-natural-tendency-of-the-ignorant-to-believe-what-is-not/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) [Explore all 827 H. L. Mencken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. 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