Husbands never become good; they merely become proficient.
Interpretation
Husbands may not inherently improve as individuals, but they can learn to fulfill their roles better over time.
This quote by H. L. Mencken suggests that the role of a husband doesn't necessarily transform a man into a better person; instead, it implies that with time, experience, and practice, he becomes more skilled at being a husband. It reflects on the nature of marriage and personal development, indicating that proficiency in marital duties comes from continuous effort rather than a fundamental change in character.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a wedding toast to hint at the humorous yet realistic expectations of marriage.
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.
I have often said that domestic violence is characterised by silence: of the abused, of the abuser and of those who don't know how to intervene. But the media have the ability to break this corrosive silence: bringing us the voices of victims; shattering the taboo; and raising awareness of what we can all do to stop this heinous crime.
When you're growing up, your dad is your superhero. Once you've let yourself fall that in love with someone, once you put him on such a high pedestal and he lets you down, you never want to experience that pain again.
For me, living means I can be responsive to the other person. It means I can show my emotions and my feelings. Talk to them. Feel with them.
It may be most difficult to empathize with those we are closest to.
Providing - that's not love. Being there - that's more important. I mean, we see that. We see that with all these rich socialites. They're crying out for attention; they're hurting for love. I'm not being judgmental - I'm just making an observation. They're crying out for the love that maybe they didn't get at home, and they got everything.
My father has a way of persuading people without charm that has always confused me. He states his opinions as if theyβre facts, and somehow his complete lack of doubt makes you believe him. That quality frightens me now, because I know what he told me: that I was broken, that I was worthless, that I was nothing. How many of those things did he make me believe?
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