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H. L. Mencken Biography

H. L. Mencken, Writer
Born asHenry Louis Mencken
Occup.Writer
FromUSA
BornSeptember 12, 1880
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
DiedJanuary 29, 1956
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
CauseStroke
Aged75 years
Henry Louis Mencken, better called H.L. Mencken, was born on September 12, 1880, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He was the child of August Mencken, a stogie factory owner, and Anna Abhau, whose forefathers were German immigrants. Mencken's childhood in a German-speaking household had a substantial impact on his viewpoint and also his later writings.

Mencken went to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, yet his passion for creating, particularly in the area of journalism, was evident from a young age. He started his profession as a press reporter for the Baltimore Morning Herald in 1899 as well as worked for several publications before at some point landing at The Baltimore Sun in 1906, where he ended up being a columnist, editor, as well as literary movie critic.

Mencken's wit as well as acidic style quickly gained him the credibility of being just one of one of the most influential and controversial social movie critics of his time. His creating touched on a series of topics, including national politics, religion, and society, and he was known for his pungent reviews of American society and also its worths.

Along with his column in The Baltimore Sun, Mencken additionally created for a number of other publications, consisting of The New Yorker, The American Mercury, and The Smart Set. He additionally authored numerous books, including "The American Language" and "In Protection of Ladies", both of which ended up being bestsellers.

In spite of his online reputation as a provocateur, Mencken was additionally deeply dedicated to the conservation of constitutionals rights and also spoke up against censorship and political fascism. He utilized his system as an author as well as social analyst to advocate for freedom of expression and various other autonomous worths.

Mencken's profession was not without controversy. He was accused of anti-Semitism and also racism, and also his sights on eugenics were particularly problematic. Nevertheless, his impact on American literature and also journalism was countless, and his heritage continues to be felt today.

Mencken experienced an incapacitating stroke in 1948, which compelled him to relinquish composing. He passed away on January 29, 1956, in his cherished city of Baltimore. In spite of his death, his work continues to be a testament to the power of cost-free speech and also the relevance of thoughtful, intriguing social discourse.

Our collection contains 124 quotes who is written / told by L. Mencken, under the main topics: Love - Politics - History - Marriage - Men.

Related authors: Will Durant (Historian), P. J. O'Rourke (Journalist), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Ambrose Bierce (Journalist)

H. L. Mencken Famous Works:
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124 Famous quotes by H. L. Mencken

Small: Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop
"Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop"
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Small: Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage
"Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage"
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Small: Honor is simply the morality of superior men
"Honor is simply the morality of superior men"
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Small: Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven
"Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven"
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Small: Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian
"Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian"
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Small: Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses
"Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by Jackasses"
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Small: In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft
"In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft"
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Small: It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man
"It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man"
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Small: Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence
"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence"
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Small: Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he forme
"Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages"
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Small: Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under
"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under"
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Small: Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas
"Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas"
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Small: The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard t
"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable"
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Small: Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for
"Whenever you hear a man speak of his love for his country, it is a sign that he expects to be paid for it"
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Small: No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average woman of forty-eight
"No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average woman of forty-eight"
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Small: The only really happy folk are married women and single men
"The only really happy folk are married women and single men"
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Small: Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy
"Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy"
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Small: For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong"
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Small: Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good
"Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good"
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Small: Archbishop - A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ
"Archbishop - A Christian ecclesiastic of a rank superior to that attained by Christ"
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Small: Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another
"Love is the delusion that one woman differs from another"
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Small: Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?
"Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?"
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Small: It doesnt take a majority to make a rebellion it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause
"It doesn't take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause"
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Small: Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance
"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance"
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Small: Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking
"Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking"
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Small: The only cure for contempt is counter-contempt
"The only cure for contempt is counter-contempt"
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Small: Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing
"Theology is the effort to explain the unknowable in terms of the not worth knowing"
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Small: The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane.
"The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression"
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Small: I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs
"I go on working for the same reason that a hen goes on laying eggs"
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Small: Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of ones wifes sist
"Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of one's wife's sister's husband"
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Small: Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard"
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Small: We must respect the other fellows religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart"
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Small: It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty,
"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"
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Small: We must be willing to pay a price for freedom
"We must be willing to pay a price for freedom"
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Small: Time stays, we go
"Time stays, we go"
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Small: There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and that all of them are good
"There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and that all of them are good"
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Small: One may no more live in the world without picking up the moral prejudices of the world than one will be
"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"
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Small: It is impossible to imagine the universe run by a wise, just and omnipotent God, but it is quite easy t
"It is impossible to imagine the universe run by a wise, just and omnipotent God, but it is quite easy to imagine it run by a board of gods"
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Small: I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved which a cow enjoys on
"I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved which a cow enjoys on giving milk"
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Small: Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable
"Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable"
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Small: The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom
"The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom"
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Small: The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, e
"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"
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Small: Love is an emotion that is based on an opinion of women that is impossible for those who have had any e
"Love is an emotion that is based on an opinion of women that is impossible for those who have had any experience with them"
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Small: I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense
"I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense"
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Small: Dont overestimate the decency of the human race
"Don't overestimate the decency of the human race"
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Small: Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public"
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Small: No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice ma
"No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not"
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Small: It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach, but idealism. Men get int
"It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world, as pastors teach, but idealism. Men get into trouble by taking their visions and hallucinations too seriously"
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Small: I never lecture, not because I am shy or a bad speaker, but simply because I detest the sort of people
"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"
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Small: Nevertheless, it is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man
"Nevertheless, it is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man"
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