Maxioms by H. L. Mencken
It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows read more
It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone- that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous...The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge.
The only kind of freedom that the mob can imagine is freedom to annoy and oppress its betters, and that read more
The only kind of freedom that the mob can imagine is freedom to annoy and oppress its betters, and that is precisely the kind that we mainly have.
The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth--that the read more
The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth--that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.
I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it read more
I believe in only one thing: liberty; but I do not believe in liberty enough to want to force it upon anyone.
Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.
Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.
