A Quote by H. L. Mencken

A politician normally prospers under democracy in proportion ... as he excels in the invention of imaginary perils and imaginary defenses against them.

H. L. Mencken

Quote Topics

Against Democracy Imaginary Invention Normally Perils Politician Proportion Them

Quote Author

H. L. Mencken
American - Writer
September 12, 1880 - January 29, 1956

The world consists of imaginary people, claiming imaginary virtues and suffering from imaginary happiness.

Vernon Howard

For any artistic person who creates imaginary people, the art is like inhabiting the life and mind of a seven-year-old child with imaginary friends and imaginary events and imaginary grace and imaginary tragedy. Within that alternate universe, the characters do have quite a bit of free will. I know it's happening in my mind and my mind alone, but they seem to have their own ability to shape their destinies. So I'm not shooting for anything. If the characters are vulnerable it's simply because they're very human.

Bob Shacochis

Boundary, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of another.

Ambrose Bierce

I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we think about them so much that we name a ship after them. The imaginary lives on in the real.

Paul Auster

I started to make a joke that I had an imaginary friend underneath the let-out couch named Binky. I would never talk to him; I would only use him as entertainment for other people. I knew they thought that children had imaginary friends, so I was like, "I don't really believe in imaginary friends, but I want to feel like I do." I used to make a joke, "My imaginary friend Binky says this," because I knew it would get a laugh out of them.

Keke Palmer

The imaginary expression ?(-a) and the negative expression -b, have this resemblance, that either of them occurring as the solution of a problem indicates some inconsistency or absurdity. As far as real meaning is concerned, both are imaginary, since 0 - a is as inconceivable as ?(-a).

Augustus De Morgan

I was such a nerd in high school, I didn't even have imaginary friends, I had imaginary bullies.

Brian Posehn

The distinction between what is real and what is imaginary is not one that can be finely maintained ... all existing thing are ... imaginary.

Gregg Braden

I'm creating an imaginary — it's always imaginary — world in which I would like to live.

William S. Burroughs

A true friend never asks you to feed their imaginary fish. Or fertilize their imaginary crops.

Teresa Medeiros

Since most problems are created by our imagination and are thus imaginary, all we need are imaginary solutions.

Richard Bandler

Ramona stepped back into her closet, slid the door shut, pressed an imaginary button, and when her imaginary elevator had made its imaginary descent, stepped out onto the real first floor and raced a real problem. Her mother and father were leaving for Parents' Night.

Beverly Cleary

We actors do this to pretend, to go into imaginary circumstances, so when the imaginary circumstance is of a different time, that just compounds the joy of doing what we do.

Tim DeKay

Philosophers make imaginary laws for imaginary commonwealths, and their discourses are as the stars, which give little light because they are so high.