"Politics, under a democracy, reduces itself to a mere struggle for office by flatterers of the proletariat; even when a superior man prevails at that disgusting game he must prevail at the cost of his self-respect. Not many superior men make the attempt. The average great captain of the rabble, when he is not simply a weeper over irremediable wrongs, is a hypocrite so far gone that he is unconscious of his own hypocrisy—a slimy fellow, offensive to the nose."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Humorists from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesJournalists from the United StatesColumnists from the United StatesHistorians from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis Mencken (12 September 1880 – 29 January 1956), known as H. L. Mencken, was a twentieth-century journalist, satirist, social critic, cynic, and freethinker, known as the "Sage of Baltimore" and the "American Nietzsche". He is often regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century.
237 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by H. L. Mencken →
Related Quotes
"Mowa pospolita, pospolicie prawdziwa."
"One hears murmurs against Mussolini on the ground that he is a desperado: the real objection to him is that he is a p…"
"When women kiss, it always reminds one of prize-fighters shaking hands."
"Creator — A comedian whose audience is afraid to laugh."
"A man who has throttled a bad impulse has at least some consolation in his agonies, but a man who has throttled a goo…"
"The Jews could be put down very plausibly as the most unpleasant race ever heard of. As commonly encountered they lac…"
"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Re…"
"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under."
"Theology — An effort to explain the unknowable by putting it into terms of the not worth knowing."
"To a clergyman lying under a vow of chastity any act of sex is immoral, but his abhorrence of it naturally increases …"