--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The essence of a sound style is that it…" description: "\"The essence of a sound style is that it cannot be reduced to rules-that it is a living and breathing thing with something of the devilish in it-that it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/h-l-mencken-245_breathing_the-essence-of-a-sound-style-is-that-it_2862550.jpg" --- # The essence of a sound style is that it cannot be reduced… ![“The essence of a sound style is that it cannot be reduced to rules-that it is a living and breathing thing with something of the devilish in it-that it fits its proprietor tightly yet ever so loosely, as his skin fits him. It is, in fact, quite as seriously an integral part of him as that skin is…” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/h-l-mencken-245_breathing_the-essence-of-a-sound-style-is-that-it_2862550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/h-l-mencken-245_breathing_the-essence-of-a-sound-style-is-that-it_2862550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/423/h-l-mencken-245_breathing_the-essence-of-a-sound-style-is-that-it_2862550.jpg) > “The essence of a sound style is that it cannot be reduced to rules-that it is a living and breathing thing with something of the devilish in it-that it fits its proprietor tightly yet ever so loosely, as his skin fits him. It is, in fact, quite as seriously an integral part of him as that skin is. . . . In brief, a style is always the outward and visible symbol of a man, and cannot be anything else.” [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. Style is a living, breathing expression of self, inseparable from identity, not merely rules. **In simple terms:** Style reflects personal identity beyond rules. Key Takeaway Own your authentic style. Themes identity expression authenticity Mood reflective confident Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - fashion design - personal grooming - creative writing Key Concepts self‑concept culture personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How does your style reflect you? - What rules do you challenge? A Different Perspective May ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Devilish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devilish/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) ## Related quotes > [Every artist has a very particular sound and style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-shirazinia/every-artist-has-a-very-particular-sound-and-style/) [Ali Shirazinia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-shirazinia/) > [I really feel like I honed in on a sound and a style of writing that best fits me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hunt/i-really-feel-like-i-honed-in-on-a-sound-and-a-style-of-writing-that/) [Sam Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hunt/) > [I feel like I created my own sound and style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-mosey/i-feel-like-i-created-my-own-sound-and-style/) [Lil Mosey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-mosey/) > [I wanted to give people a taste of my own music through the sound and style of my covers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birdy/i-wanted-to-give-people-a-taste-of-my-own-music-through-the-sound-and/) [Birdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birdy/) > [And really, the reason we think of death in celestial terms is that the visible firmament, especially at night (above our blacked-out Paris with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-really-the-reason-we-think-of-death-in-celestial-terms-is-that/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Religious symbols should be visible in public space, in a dignified and non-provocative manner. Christmas trees here, Jewish menorahs there and, further along, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/religious-symbols-should-be-visible-in-public-space-in-a-dignified/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [The most visible symbol in New York is the spirit of a free people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/the-most-visible-symbol-in-new-york-is-the-spirit-of-a-free-people/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [Brasil used to have - and still has, in some ways - a strong culture of showing off. And that's not only in sneakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-nunes/brasil-used-to-have-and-still-has-in-some-ways-a-strong-culture-of/) Ricardo Nunes > [I love tattooed women, maybe because they are uncontrollable, they are themselves to the point of drawing symbols of their power on their skin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-love-tattooed-women-maybe-because-they-are-uncontrollable-they-are/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Of all forms of visible otherworldliness, it seems to me, the Gothic is at once the most logical and the most beautiful. It reaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/of-all-forms-of-visible-otherworldliness-it-seems-to-me-the-gothic-is/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [So what name would you rather I call you? she asked as she headed out of the parking lot. Ias or Alexion. He gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/so-what-name-would-you-rather-i-call-you-she-asked-as-she-headed-out/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [No matter how much I wanted all those things that I needed money to buy, there was some devilish current pushing me off in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-matter-how-much-i-wanted-all-those-things-that-i-needed-money-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Man is still by instinct a predatory animal given to devilish aggression. The discoveries of science have immensely increased productivity of material things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/man-is-still-by-instinct-a-predatory-animal-given-to-devilish/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Blessed be those happy ages that were strangers to the dreadful fury of these devilish instruments of artillery, whose inventor I am satisfied is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/blessed-be-those-happy-ages-that-were-strangers-to-the-dreadful-fury/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-devilish-iron-horse-whose-ear-rending-neigh-is-heard-throughout/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## 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. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Women have simple tastes. 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 Breathing quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) Marcel Williams > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-d-moved-toward-me-again-his-hands-released-mine-and-moved-to-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Browse all 1,666 Breathing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The essence of a sound style is that it cannot be reduced to rules-that it is a living and breathing thing with something of the devilish in it-that it fits its proprietor tightly yet ever so loosely, as his skin fits him. It is, in fact, quite as seriously an integral part of him as that skin is. . . . In brief, a style is always the outward and visible symbol of a man, and cannot be anything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H. L. 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