Lying is not only excusable; it is not only innocent; it is, above all, necessary and unavoidable. Without the ameliorations that it offers, life would become a mere syllogism and hence too metallic to be borne. β¨ H. L. Mencken (1924). Prejudices Fourth Series
More Author Quotes
- The argument that capital punishment degrades the state is moonshine, for if that were true then it would degrade the state to send men to war... The state, in truth, is degraded in its very nature: β¦ βΆ
- The truth is . . . that the great artists of the world are never puritans, and seldom ever ordinarily respectable. No virtuous man - that is, virtuous in the YMCA sense - has ever painted a picture w β¦ βΆ
- Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage. β¨ H.L. Mencken (2012). Mencken Chrestomathy, p.622, Vintage
- A man's women folk, whatever their outward show of respect for his merit and authority, always regard him secretly as an ass, and with something akin to pity. β¨ H. L. Mencken (2015). In Defense of Wo β¦ βΆ
- The natural tendency of every government is to grow steadily worse-that is, to grow more satisfactory to those who constitute it and less satisfactory to those who support it.
Most Cited Authors
William Shakespeare2362
Cassandra Clare2086
Ralph Waldo Emerson2017
Paulo Coelho1839
Rajneesh1644
Sherrilyn Kenyon1633
Mark Twain1626
C. S. Lewis1624
Rick Riordan1549
Oscar Wilde1401
Albert Einstein1372
J. K. Rowling1274
Rumi1268
Friedrich Nietzsche1258
John Green1254
Swami Vivekananda1206
Thomas Jefferson1179
Richelle Mead1130
Barack Obama1115
Henry David Thoreau1086
Terry Pratchett1070
Stephen King1024
Mahatma Gandhi1019
Jodi Picoult1016
Neil Gaiman977
Haruki Murakami976
Laozi972
27
The Best Quotes
Most Liked Authors
William Shakespeare46.4k
Cassandra Clare40.9k
Ralph Waldo Emerson38.9k
Paulo Coelho35.9k
Rajneesh32k
Sherrilyn Kenyon31.8k
Mark Twain31.7k
C. S. Lewis31k
Rick Riordan30.4k
Oscar Wilde26.9k
Albert Einstein26.8k
J. K. Rowling24.6k
John Green24.5k
Friedrich Nietzsche24.4k
Rumi24.3k
Swami Vivekananda23.3k
Thomas Jefferson22.7k
Richelle Mead22.2k
Barack Obama21.6k
Terry Pratchett21k
Henry David Thoreau20.6k
Stephen King19.8k
Jodi Picoult19.8k
Mahatma Gandhi19.7k
Neil Gaiman19.2k
Laozi19.1k
Haruki Murakami19k
27