H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

Henry Louis Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, 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.

Quotes

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth--that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured of one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.
The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants beyond everything else is safety.
Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends.

Conscience
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
Happiness is the china shop; love is the bull.
There comes a time when a man must spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats.
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.
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.
The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

Democracy
Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for it.

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

Ideas
What the meaning of human life may be I don't know: I incline to suspect that it has none.
The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.
My guess is that well over 80 percent of the human race goes without having a single original thought.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.

Idealism
There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong.
We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine.

Knowledge

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