The fact is that liberty, in any true sense, is a concept that lies quite beyond the reach of the inferior man's mind. And no wonder, for genuine liberty demands of its votaries a quality he lacks completely, and that is courage. The man who loves it must be willing to fight for it blood, said Jefferson, is its natural manure. Liberty means self-reliance, it means resolution, it means the capacity for doing without ... the average man doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe.
More Quotes from Henry Louis Mencken:
If there were only three women left in the world, two of them would immediately convene a court-martial to try the other one.Henry Louis Mencken
The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable.
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After all, why be good How many will actually believe it of us.
Henry Louis Mencken
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.
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The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
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The thing constantly overlooked by those hopefuls who talk About abolishing war is that it is by no means an evidence of the decay but rather a proof of health and vigor.
Henry Louis Mencken
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Based on Topics: Courage Quotes, Curiosity Quotes, Facts Quotes, Liberty & Freedom Quotes, Man Quotes, Mind Quotes, Quality Quotes, Self-reliance Quotes, Sense & Perception QuotesBased on Keywords: votaries
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