H. L. Mencken1880–1956The quotations of
H. L. Mencken
American journalist and writer
1880–1956
63 quotes, most often on Government, Politics and Clever Jabs. Part of the Writers collection.
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
‘Notes On Journalism’ in the Chicago Tribune (19 September 1926)- Minority Report: H.L. Mencken’s Notebooks (1956), 1
Puritanism—the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
Sententiæ: The Citizen and the State, p. 624Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?
To wage a war for a purely moral reason is as absurd as to ravish a woman for a purely moral reason.
- Often credited to Voltaire
- Prejudices, Fourth Series, ch. 11 (1924)
Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.
The essence of a self-reliant and autonomous culture is an unshakeable egoism.
Imagine the Creator as a low comedian, and at once the world becomes explicable.
- “A Few Pages of Notes,” The Smart Set (January 1915)
Often credited to H. L. Mencken
Quotes often credited to H. L. Mencken that were said or written by someone else.
