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It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.

H. L. Mencken

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H. L. Mencken
Age: 75 †
Born: 1880
Born: September 12
Died: 1956
Died: January 29
Autobiographer
Essayist
Historian
Journalist
Linguist
Literary Critic
Satirist
Social Critic
Writer
Baltimore
Maryland
Henry Louis Mencken
Protect
Foster
Theory
Citizen
Liberty
Governments
Modern
Limit
Practice
Civilized
Government
Limits
Sometimes
Exercise
Citizens
Narrowly

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When I think of anything properly describable as a beautiful idea, it is always in the form of music. I have written and printed probably 10,000,000 words in English but all the same I shall die an inarticulate man, for my best ideas beset me in a language I know only vaguely and speak only as a child.
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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.
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Socialist: A man suffering from an overwhelming conviction to believe what is not true.
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Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no truth to be discovered there is only error to be exposed.
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The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal. Some of their most esteemed inventions have no other apparent purpose - for example, the dinner party of more than two, the epic poem, and the science of metaphysics.
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Why do men delight in work? Fundamentally, I suppose, because there is a sense of relief and pleasure in getting something done - a kind of satisfaction not unlike that which a hen enjoys on laying an egg.
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All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: it's one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him... One of its primary functions is to regiment men by force, to make them as much alike as possible and as dependent upon one another as possible, to search out and combat originality among them.
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Next to the semi-colon, quotation marks seem to be the chief butts of reformatory ardor.
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The first kiss is stolen by the man the last is begged by the woman.
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The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.
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Culture itself is neither education nor law-making: it is an atmosphere and a heritage.
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A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
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If there were only three women left in the world, two of them would immediately convene a court-martial to try the other one.
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The first Rotarian was the first man to call John the Baptist Jack.
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The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.
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The seasick passenger on an ocean liner detests the good sailor who stalks past him 265 times a day grandly smoking a large, greasy cigar. In precisely the same way the democrat hates the man who is having a better time in the world. This is the origin of democracy. It is also the origin of Puritanism.
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I'm ombibulous. I drink every known alcoholic drink and enjoy them all.
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American journalism (like the journalism of any other country) is predominantly paltry and worthless. Its pretensions are enormous, but its achievements are insignificant.
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The real man lies in the depths of subconscious.
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Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.
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