1,045 Quotes by H. L. Mencken

Every failure teaches a man something, to wit, that he will probably fail again.

The movies today are too rich to have any room for genuine artists. They produce a few passable craftsmen, but no artists. Can you imagine a Beethoven making $100, 000 a year?

The true aim of medicine is not to make men virtuous; it is to safeguard and rescue them from the consequences of their vices. The physician does not preach repentance; he offers absolution.

Our literature, despite several false starts that promised much, is chiefly remarkable, now as always, for its respectable mediocrity.

There are some politicians who, if their constituents were cannibals, would promise them missionaries in every pot.

The physical business of writing is unpleasant to me, but the psychic satisfaction of discharging bad ideas in worse English makes me forget it.

Love is an emotion that is based on an opinion of women that is impossible for those who have had any experience with them.

Creator: A comedian whose audience is afraid to laugh.

There's no underestimating the intelligence of the American public.