H

H. L. Mencken

75 quotes

H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, and cultural critic known as the "Sage of Baltimore." A fierce defender of free speech and a sharp observer of American life, Mencken skewered politics, religion, and popular culture with a wit that remains unmatched in American journalism.

“The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line.”

— H. L. Mencken

Life

All Quotes by H. L. Mencken

“Temptation is an irresistible force at work on a movable body.”

— H. L. Mencken

Work

“All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.”

— H. L. Mencken

Men

“Communism, like any other revealed religion, is largely made up of prophecies.”

— H. L. Mencken

Religion

“A man always remembers his first love with special tenderness, but after that he begins to bunch them.”

— H. L. Mencken

Love

“The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.”

— H. L. Mencken

Age

“The opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.”

— H. L. Mencken

Music

“The basic fact about human existence is not that it is a tragedy, but that it is a bore. It is not so much a war as an endless standing in line.”

— H. L. Mencken

Life

“It is impossible to imagine the universe run by a wise, just and omnipotent God, but it is quite easy to imagine it run by a board of gods.”

— H. L. Mencken

God

“Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.”

— H. L. Mencken

Government

“To die for an idea it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!”

— H. L. Mencken

Men

“Strike an average between what a woman thinks of her husband a month before she marries him and what she thinks of him a year afterward, and you will have the truth about him.”

— H. L. Mencken

Anniversary

“The only really happy folk are married women and single men.”

— H. L. Mencken

Men

“For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe. Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.”

— H. L. Mencken

Marriage

“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.”

— H. L. Mencken

Truth

“War will never cease until babies begin to come into the world with larger cerebrums and smaller adrenal glands.”

— H. L. Mencken

Peace

“It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.”

— H. L. Mencken

Truth

“The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression.”

— H. L. Mencken

Government

“We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine.”

— H. L. Mencken

Knowledge

“In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.”

— H. L. Mencken

Politics

“Time stays, we go.”

— H. L. Mencken

Time