Minority ReportIn the fall of 1948 H. L. Mencken, then at the top of his unmatchable form (he had spoken at a meeting of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia only a little while before), suffered a stroke. He soon recovered his physical vigor, but writing was for him a thing of the past. Some months before his death, in going through some papers that he was putting in order for deposit in his beloved Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, his long-time secretary discovered these Notebooks. Mencken meant to publish them, as he makes clear in the preface, which also describes them better than I can. Suffice it to say that here is one more generous sampling of the old Mencken battling fearlessly for the freedom and dignity of the individual and for the general decencies of life and attacking all that seems fundamentally hostile to man: government, organized religion, professional philosophers, and pedagogues above all. It shows his restless and inquiring mind ranging over many of the problems that beset all of us who ever take time out to think, all in his unmatchable style, which, however much it crackles, has the supreme virtue—which Henry always found in his own great model, Thomas Henry Huxley—that of never leaving you in doubt of its meaning. Read the preface and note that this book is precisely what its title suggests; it consists of hundreds of notes—some only a few lines in length, some running to several pages, all reflecting a rigorous and exhilarating mind and personality. It may be a long time before another like him crosses our path. |
Contents
10 | |
Chapter | 11 |
Chapter | 12 |
Chapter | 13 |
Chapter | 14 |
Chapter | 15 |
Chapter | 16 |
Chapter | 17 |
Chapter | 209 |
Chapter | 210 |
Chapter | 211 |
Chapter | 212 |
Chapter | 213 |
Chapter | 214 |
Chapter 219 | 237 |
Chapter | 238 |
Chapter | 18 |
Chapter | 19 |
Chapter | 20 |
Chapter | 21 |
Chapter | 22 |
Chapter | 23 |
Chapter | 24 |
Chapter | 25 |
Chapter | 26 |
Chapter | 27 |
Chapter | 28 |
Chapter | 29 |
Chapter | 30 |
Chapter | 31 |
Chapter | 32 |
Chapter | 33 |
Chapter | 34 |
Chapter | 35 |
Chapter | 36 |
Chapter | 37 |
Chapter | 38 |
Chapter | 39 |
Chapter | 40 |
Chapter | 41 |
Chapter | 42 |
Chapter | 43 |
Chapter | 44 |
Chapter | 45 |
Chapter | 46 |
Chapter | 47 |
Chapter | 48 |
Chapter | 49 |
Chapter | 50 |
Chapter | 51 |
Chapter | 52 |
Chapter | 53 |
Chapter | 54 |
Chapter | 55 |
Chapter | 56 |
Chapter | 57 |
Chapter | 58 |
Chapter 59 | 64 |
Chapter | 65 |
Chapter | 66 |
Chapter | 67 |
Chapter | 68 |
Chapter | 69 |
Chapter 70 | 71 |
Chapter 72 | 76 |
Chapter | 77 |
Chapter | 78 |
Chapter | 79 |
Chapter | 80 |
Chapter | 81 |
Chapter | 82 |
Chapter | 83 |
Chapter | 84 |
Chapter | 85 |
Chapter | 86 |
Chapter 87 | 91 |
Chapter | 92 |
Chapter 93 | 94 |
Chapter | 95 |
Chapter | 96 |
Chapter 97 | 99 |
Chapter | 100 |
Chapter | 101 |
Chapter | 102 |
Chapter | 103 |
Chapter | 104 |
Chapter 105 | 109 |
Chapter 110 | 114 |
Chapter | 115 |
Chapter | 116 |
Chapter | 117 |
Chapter | 118 |
Chapter | 119 |
Chapter | 120 |
Chapter | 121 |
Chapter | 122 |
Chapter | 123 |
Chapter | 124 |
Chapter | 125 |
Chapter | 126 |
Chapter | 127 |
Chapter 128 | 129 |
Chapter | 130 |
Chapter | 131 |
Chapter 132 | 135 |
Chapter | 136 |
Chapter | 137 |
Chapter | 138 |
Chapter | 139 |
Chapter 140 | 152 |
Chapter | 153 |
Chapter | 154 |
Chapter | 155 |
Chapter | 156 |
Chapter | 157 |
Chapter | 158 |
Chapter | 159 |
Chapter | 160 |
Chapter | 161 |
Chapter | 162 |
Chapter | 163 |
Chapter | 164 |
Chapter | 165 |
Chapter 166 | 167 |
Chapter | 168 |
Chapter 169 | 171 |
Chapter | 172 |
Chapter | 173 |
Chapter | 174 |
Chapter | 175 |
Chapter | 176 |
Chapter 177 | 178 |
Chapter | 179 |
Chapter | 180 |
Chapter | 181 |
Chapter | 182 |
Chapter | 183 |
Chapter | 184 |
Chapter | 185 |
Chapter | 186 |
Chapter | 187 |
Chapter | 188 |
Chapter | 189 |
Chapter 190 | 195 |
Chapter 196 | 204 |
Chapter | 205 |
Chapter | 206 |
Chapter | 207 |
Chapter | 208 |
Chapter | 239 |
Chapter | 240 |
Chapter | 241 |
Chapter | 242 |
Chapter | 243 |
Chapter | 244 |
Chapter | 245 |
Chapter | 246 |
Chapter | 247 |
Chapter | 248 |
Chapter | 249 |
Chapter | 250 |
Chapter | 251 |
Chapter | 252 |
Chapter | 253 |
Chapter | 254 |
Chapter | 255 |
Chapter | 256 |
Chapter | 257 |
Chapter | 258 |
Chapter | 259 |
Chapter | 260 |
Chapter | 261 |
Chapter | 262 |
Chapter | 263 |
Chapter | 264 |
Chapter | 265 |
Chapter | 266 |
Chapter | 267 |
Chapter | 268 |
Chapter | 269 |
Chapter | 270 |
Chapter | 271 |
Chapter | 272 |
Chapter | 273 |
Chapter | 274 |
Chapter | 275 |
Chapter | 276 |
Chapter | 277 |
Chapter 285 | 287 |
Chapter | 288 |
Chapter | 289 |
Chapter | 290 |
Chapter | 291 |
Chapter | 292 |
Chapter 293 | 294 |
Chapter | 295 |
Chapter | 296 |
Chapter | 297 |
Chapter | 298 |
Chapter 299 | 300 |
Chapter 301 | 302 |
Chapter | 303 |
Chapter | 304 |
Chapter | 305 |
Chapter 306 | 310 |
Chapter | 311 |
Chapter | 312 |
Chapter | 313 |
Chapter | 314 |
Chapter | 315 |
Chapter | 316 |
Chapter | 317 |
Chapter | 318 |
Chapter | 319 |
Chapter | 320 |
Chapter | 321 |
Chapter | 322 |
Chapter 323 | 344 |
Chapter | 345 |
Chapter | 346 |
Chapter | 347 |
Chapter | 348 |
Chapter | 349 |
Chapter | 350 |
Chapter | 351 |
Chapter | 352 |
Chapter | 353 |
Chapter 354 | 355 |
Chapter 356 | 359 |
Chapter | 360 |
Chapter | 361 |
Chapter | 362 |
Chapter | 363 |
Chapter | 364 |
Chapter | 365 |
Chapter | 366 |
Chapter 367 | 368 |
Chapter | 369 |
Chapter | 370 |
Chapter | 371 |
Chapter 372 | 374 |
Chapter 375 | 376 |
Chapter | 377 |
Chapter 378 | 381 |
Chapter | 382 |
Chapter | 383 |
Chapter 384 | 386 |
Chapter | 387 |
Chapter 388 | 392 |
Chapter | 393 |
Chapter | 394 |
Chapter | 395 |
Chapter | 396 |
Chapter | 397 |
Chapter | 398 |
Chapter 399 | 401 |
Chapter | 402 |
Chapter | 403 |
Chapter | 404 |
Chapter | 405 |
Chapter | 406 |
Chapter | 407 |
Chapter | 408 |
Chapter | 409 |
Chapter | 410 |
Chapter | 411 |
Chapter | 412 |
Chapter | 413 |
Chapter | 414 |
Chapter | 415 |
Chapter | 416 |
Chapter | 417 |
Chapter | 418 |
Chapter | 419 |
Chapter | 420 |
Chapter | 421 |
Chapter | 422 |
Chapter | 423 |
Chapter | 424 |
Chapter | 425 |
Chapter | 426 |
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Common terms and phrases
absurd actually American Appalachia argued average balderdash become believe better can’t Catholic certainly chiefly chiropractor Christian civilized common sense Communists concept course criminal deal decent delusion demagogues democracy democratic dignity doctrine dubious dysgenic effect effort English enormous evidence example fact false fellows fifth-rate genuine Goethe H. L. Mencken hard human ideas idiotic imagine imbecility impossible incompetent inevitably inferior influence intelligent Jews least less living majority mankind metaphysics moral mountebanks movie natural Negro never nonsense obviously palpable Paul Elmer Paul of Tarsus pedagogues perhaps persons plain plainly political politicians poor precisely pretenses probably professional Protestantism punishment Puritan quackery quacks rational reason religion Roosevelt seems seldom simply so-called sort stupid superior sure teach tend theologians theology theory thing third-rate true trying United usually vote women World War II worse worst writing