Quotations from

H. L. Mencken

About

Picture of H. L. Mencken

Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on literature, music, prominent politicians, and contemporary movements. His satirical reporting on the Scopes trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey Trial", also earned him attention. The term Menckenian has entered multiple dictionaries to describe anything of or pertaining to Mencken, including his combative rhetorical and prose styles.

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H. L. Mencken is sometimes cited as:

Quotes from H. L. Mencken

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

Say what you will about the Ten Commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them.

—H. L. Mencken

Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.

—H. L. Mencken

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

—H. L. Mencken

Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.

—H. L. Mencken

Temptation is a woman's weapon and man's excuse.

—H. L. Mencken

An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.

—H. L. Mencken

The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.

—H. L. Mencken

Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.

—H. L. Mencken

There is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.

—H. L. Mencken

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

I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing.

—H. L. Mencken

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.

—H. L. Mencken

Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.

—H. L. Mencken

Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true.

—H. L. Mencken

Books

H. L. Mencken has the following books quoted on Quodid: