Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority.… All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them.

About 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...

More quotations from 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

truth belief lying

The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.

—H. L. Mencken in Minority Report

humanity power greed idealism

Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.

—H. L. Mencken

conscience voice looking observation

The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.

—H. L. Mencken

belief mankind passion

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

—H. L. Mencken

fear happiness puritanism

More quotations tagged with “doubt”

You know what's interesting about Washington? It's the kind of place where second-guessing has become second nature.

—George W. Bush

politics doubt USA

Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain. We leave our attachments and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top. At the peak we have transcended all pain. The only problem with this metaphor is that we leave all the others behind.… In the process of discovering our true nature, the journey goes down, not up.… Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward the turbulence and doubt.… We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away. If it takes years, if it takes lifetimes, we will let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear. At the bottom we discover water, the healing water of compassion. Right down there in the thick of things, we discover the love that will not die.

—Pema Chödrön

No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt.

—Max Beerbohm

work doubt sacrifice concentration toil self-sacrifice

We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species.

—Desmond Morris

humanity questions survival doubt answers investigation

Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

—Carl Sagan

religion science doubt nonsense skepticism insight

History

23 Nov 2014 Added
14 Jul 2015 Edited (details weren’t recorded yet)
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. . . . All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them.