“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
Sententiæ: The Citizen and the State, p. 624
1940s–present, A Mencken Chrestomathy (1949)
Source: A Mencken Chrestomathy
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H.L. Mencken 281
American journalist and writer 1880–1956Related quotes

Source: The Mermaid's Purse: poems by Ted Hughes

November 2005[citation needed]
Philosophy

“Engaging in complexity is a key to simplicity. Fear of it will haunt your inner recesses.”
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Diary entry, 20 January 1940, from The Diaries of Christopher Isherwood, vol I: 1939 - 1960, edited by Katherine Bucknell, p. 84<!-- >
Context: If I fear anything, I fear the atmosphere of the war, the power which it gives to all the things I hate — the newspapers, the politicians, the puritans, the scoutmasters, the middle-aged merciless spinsters. I fear the way I might behave, if I were exposed to this atmosphere. I shrink from the duty of opposition. I am afraid I should be reduced to a chattering enraged monkey, screaming back hate at their hate.