--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An idealist is one who, on noticing that…" description: "\"An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.\" — H. L. Mencken" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/h-l-mencken-245_cabbage_an-idealist-is-one-who-on-noticing-that_1030328.png" --- # An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell… ![“An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/h-l-mencken-245_cabbage_an-idealist-is-one-who-on-noticing-that_1030328.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/h-l-mencken-245_cabbage_an-idealist-is-one-who-on-noticing-that_1030328.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/h-l-mencken-245_cabbage_an-idealist-is-one-who-on-noticing-that_1030328.png) > “An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.” [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. Idealism can misinterpret superficial qualities as deeper value, leading to misguided conclusions. **In simple terms:** Idealism may misread surface traits. Key Takeaway Question assumptions before conclusions. Themes idealism perception critical thinking logic Mood skeptical analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - product design - policy making - personal goals - education Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you making? - How can you test ideas before adopting them? A Different Perspective Over‑idealizing can ignore practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Cabbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-cabbage-335045/) [Cabbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabbage/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Idealist Noticing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist-noticing-335047/) [Noticing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticing/) [Noticing Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticing-roses-2350069/) [Roses Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roses-smell-1143068/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Soup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soup/) ## Related quotes > [“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/an-idealist-is-one-who-on-noticing-that-a-rose-smells-better-than-a/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [Idealist: One who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-mencken/idealist-one-who-on-noticing-that-a-rose-smells-better-than-a-cabbage/) [Henry Louis Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-mencken/) > [ “In Summer there were white and damask roses, and the smell of thyme and musk. In Spring there were green gooseberries and throstles \[thrush\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrix-potter/in-summer-there-were-white-and-damask-roses-and-the-smell-of-thyme/) [Beatrix Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrix-potter/) > [“You smell like the roses. I smell like the thorns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-reiss/you-smell-like-the-roses-i-smell-like-the-thorns/) [C.D. 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They lie anyway, these roses smell too sweet and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-otto/but-aesthetics-is-not-religion-and-the-origins-of-religion-lie/) [Rudolf Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-otto/) > [Give people their roses while they still can smell them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/give-people-their-roses-while-they-still-can-smell-them/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [My girlfriend always told me, 'Send roses while they can still smell them, tell people you love them while they can still hear.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manti-te-o/my-girlfriend-always-told-me-send-roses-while-they-can-still-smell/) [Manti Te'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manti-te-o/) > [Heap not on this mound roses that she loved so well; why bewilder her with roses that she cannot see or smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/heap-not-on-this-mound-roses-that-she-loved-so-well-why-bewilder-her/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [I'll show you how the cows eat cabbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-show-you-how-the-cows-eat-cabbage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He tapped my chest. 'Happy is here.' He tapped his own chest. 'Here.' I looked down past my chin. 'Inside?' 'Inside.' It was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-tapped-my-chest-happy-is-here-he-tapped-his-own-chest-here-i/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [He who has plenty of pepper will pepper his cabbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-who-has-plenty-of-pepper-will-pepper-his-cabbage/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [In the first place, lawyers better remember they are human beings, and a human being who hasn't his periods of doubts and distresses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/in-the-first-place-lawyers-better-remember-they-are-human-beings-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Slugs crawl and crawl over our cabbages, like the world's slander over a good name. You may kill them, it is true; but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/slugs-crawl-and-crawl-over-our-cabbages-like-the-world-s-slander-over/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) ## 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. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Man's objection to love is that it dies hard; woman's, that when it is dead, it stays dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/man-s-objection-to-love-is-that-it-dies-hard-woman-s-that-when-it-is/) [H. L. 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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 Cabbage quotes > [Slugs crawl and crawl over our cabbages, like the world's slander over a good name. You may kill them, it is true; but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/slugs-crawl-and-crawl-over-our-cabbages-like-the-world-s-slander-over/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [In the first place, lawyers better remember they are human beings, and a human being who hasn't his periods of doubts and distresses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/in-the-first-place-lawyers-better-remember-they-are-human-beings-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [He who has plenty of pepper will pepper his cabbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/he-who-has-plenty-of-pepper-will-pepper-his-cabbage/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [He tapped my chest. 'Happy is here.' He tapped his own chest. 'Here.' I looked down past my chin. 'Inside?' 'Inside.' It was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/he-tapped-my-chest-happy-is-here-he-tapped-his-own-chest-here-i/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [I'll show you how the cows eat cabbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-show-you-how-the-cows-eat-cabbage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't like him." Looking from Kale to Alex, Ginger said, "I don't like cabbage. Do you see me taking on the produce section…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jus-accardo/i-don-t-like-him-looking-from-kale-to-alex-ginger-said-i-don-t-like/) [Jus Accardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jus-accardo/) > [I want death to find me planting my cabbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-want-death-to-find-me-planting-my-cabbage/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The cabbage surpasses all other vegetables. If, at a banquet, you wish to dine a lot and enjoy your dinner, then eat as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-younger/the-cabbage-surpasses-all-other-vegetables-if-at-a-banquet-you-wish/) [Cato the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-younger/) > [I was put off by people at school - my cabbage wasn't as good as other people's, you know, so that put me off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcgough/i-was-put-off-by-people-at-school-my-cabbage-wasn-t-as-good-as-other/) [Roger McGough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcgough/) > [I like to get where the cabbage is cooking and catch the scents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-smith/i-like-to-get-where-the-cabbage-is-cooking-and-catch-the-scents/) [Red Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-smith/) > [Some like carrots, others like cabbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/some-like-carrots-others-like-cabbage/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [And still I look for the men who will dare to be roses of England wild roses of England men who are wild roses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-still-i-look-for-the-men-who-will-dare-to-be-roses-of-england/) [D. 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