Of all the classes of men, I dislike the most those who make their livings by talking - actors, clergymen, politicians, pedagogues, and so on. .... It is almost impossible to imagine a talker who sticks to the facts. Carried away by the sound of his own voice and the applause from the groundlings, he makes inevitably the jump from logic to mere rhetoric.
Interpretation
Mencken expresses disdain for individuals whose professions rely on speech, suggesting they often prioritize rhetoric over truth.
In this quote, H. L. Mencken critiques various professions that depend on verbal communication, such as actors, clergymen, and politicians. He argues that these individuals, driven by the allure of their own voice and external validation, often stray from factual discourse and instead indulge in mere rhetoric, which can lead to manipulative or superficial communication. Mencken's reflection prompts a deeper exploration of how language can be used as a tool for both truth and deception.
In practice
During a seminar about effective communication, one might use this quote to illustrate the pitfalls of rhetoric over factual discussion.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
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.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
Every person you meet is waging his or her own war against a callous universe that is plotting against them.
A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware! - is not the true church of Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel's call.
Nobody can be at the same time a correct bureaucrat and an innovator
Of course you can have an opinion about Islam without having read Qur'an. You don't have to read Mein Kampf to have an opinion about Nazism.
The virtues of men are of more consequence to society than their abilities, and for this reason, the heart should be cultivated with more assiduity than the head.
I am a child of my generation, and I rejoice that I live in such splendidly disturbing times.
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