Liberty. . . was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole … - H. L. Mencken

Same topic Authors

Quote of the day

I could stop and say, Well that was a D minor, G seven, but I really don't want to know that. I just want to know that there's a combination of notes that makes a sound.

H. L. Mencken

Liberty. . . was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own government, to levy their own taxes, and to make their own laws. . . . There was second, the liberty of the individual man to live his own life, within the limits of decency and decorum, as he pleased -- freedom from the despotism of the majority.

Law, Laws, Majority, Make, Men, Two

Same Author Quotes

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

Funny, Heart, White, Land, Folks

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

Democracies Have, Freedom, Led, Menacing, Political Will, Politics

The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

Men, Cynical, Doctrine, Doctrines, Preaches, Idiots

The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.

Daring, Extravagantly, Lying, Success, Truth

People do not expect to find chastity in a whorehouse. Why, then, do they expect to find honesty and humanity in government, a congeries of institutions whose modus operandi consists of lying, cheating, stealing, and if need be, murdering those who resist?

Cheating, Consists, Expect, Honesty, Lying, Stealing