Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
H. L. MENCKEN
H. L. MENCKEN
H. L. Mencken on fear
H. L. Mencken76 quotes“Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
More from H. L. Mencken
Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken Misogynist: A man who hates women as much as women hate one another.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken Equality before the law is probably forever unattainable. It is a noble ideal, but it can never be realized, for what men value in this world is not rights but privileges.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken 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.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken Laws are no longer made by a rational process of public discussion; they are made by a process of blackmail and intimidation, and they are executed in the same manner
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken The best teacher is not the one who knows most but the one who is most capable of reducing knowledge to that simple compound of the obvious and wonderful.
H. L. MenckenH. 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. MenckenH. L. Mencken You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken There are two impossibilities in life: “just one drink” and “an honest politician.”
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken People do not expect to find chastity in a whorehouse. Why, then, do they expect to find honesty and humanity in government, a congeries of institutions whose modus operandi consists of lying, cheating, stealing, and if need be, murdering those who resist?
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken Always remember this: If you don’t attend the funerals of your friends, they will certainly not attend yours.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear – fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken On one issue, at least, men and women agree. They both distrust women.
H. L. MenckenH. L. Mencken
Original quotes
From our community writers
In this wilderness, Mankind is the animal I fear.
Addison SchmittAddison Schmitt The irony is that he broke the only person he never wanted to hurt.
Krishan PandeyKrishan Pandey I will wait, I am waiting, and I will love you with all the love I posses until this body is ash and I begin my search for you again.
Tyler Knott GregsonTyler Knott Gregson Nothing is permanent not even your pain.
Taj AroraTaj Arora Do not insist me to let you go, you come half hearted like a crescent moon, and you go heart-filled like a full moon which glows.
Nikita GandhiNikita Gandhi I want to fold you into my book, like a petal, so that you’d never leave.
Mira R. AridiMira R. Aridi It seems strange how we look in the same mirror, yet what stares back, is so painfully different.
Chris AllchinChris Allchin Do not measure yourself by success, failure, or a degree. Measure your life by the dreams you have.
Natalie MooneyNatalie Mooney
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More on fear
And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they’ll never stop doing, I think it’s fearless to stop believing them. It’s fearless to say “you’re not sorry” and walk away.
Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift The brave man is not the one who has no fears, he is the one who triumphs over his fears.
Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela Fear of death increases in exact proportion to increase in wealth.
Ernest HemingwayErnest Hemingway What ever fortune brings, don’t be afraid of doing things.
A. A. MilneA. A. Milne Fear hurries on my tongue through want of courage.
AeschylusAeschylus Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.
James BaldwinJames Baldwin I’d be a fearless leader. I’d be an alpha type.
Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift Fear never builds the future – hope does.
Joe BidenJoe Biden
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