A Puritan is someone who is desperately afraid that, somewhere, someone might be having a good time.
Interpretation
The quote humorously critiques Puritanical attitudes towards pleasure and enjoyment.
H. L. Mencken's quote highlights the inherent contradiction in Puritan beliefs, emphasizing how their strict moral codes stem from an oppressive fear of others enjoying life. It reflects societal attitudes that can demonize pleasure, suggesting that such an outlook leads to a joyless existence focused on the disapproval of others rather than the embrace of happiness.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about historical perspectives on pleasure during a lecture on cultural history.
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.
Humor is just another defense against the universe.
Hollywood is a cross between a health farm, a recreation center and an insane asylum. It's a company town, and I happen to like the company!
A lot of sexism is just very silly... and the best response is laughter and ridicule.
For future reference, Harry, it is raspberry...although of course, if I were a Death Eater, I would have been sure to research my own jam preferences before impersonating myself.
More and more, as I get older, people come up to me and say, 'Thank you for all the laughter.' And my standard answer is, 'It was my pleasure.' But that's the truth.
The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
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