Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. – H. L. Mencken
One may no more live in the world without picking up the moral prejudices of the world than one will be able to go to hell without perspiring. – H. L. Mencken
Women always excel men in that sort of wisdom which comes from experience. To be a woman is in itself a terrible experience. – H. L. Mencken
I confess I enjoy democracy immensely. It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing. – H. L. Mencken
A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable. – H. L. Mencken
Men have a much better time of it than women. For one thing, they marry later; for another thing, they die earlier. – H. L. Mencken
Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself. – H. L. Mencken
An idealist is one who, on noticing that roses smell better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. – H. L. Mencken
I believe that all government is evil, and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time. – H. L. Mencken
If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl. – H. L. Mencken
The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught. – H. L. Mencken
I never lecture, not because I am shy or a bad speaker, but simply because I detest the sort of people who go to lectures and don’t want to meet them. – H. L. Mencken
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. – H. L. Mencken
One of the most mawkish of human delusions is the notion that friendship should be eternal, or, at all events, life-long, and that any act which puts a term to it is somehow discreditable. – H. L. Mencken
Love is an emotion that is based on an opinion of women that is impossible for those who have had any experience with them. – H. L. Mencken