The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable.
Interpretation
True artists often challenge societal norms and expectations, embracing a more unconventional lifestyle.
H. L. Mencken's quote suggests that many of the world's greatest artists do not conform to the conventional standards of respectability and morality. Instead, they often lead lives that are seen as rebellious or unrefined, which allows them to push boundaries and explore deeper truths in their art. This quote emphasizes that creativity often thrives outside the confines of societal expectations.
In practice
In a discussion about the role of artists in society, one could use this quote to emphasize that true creativity often comes from those who defy conventions.
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.
If you love theatre, do theatre wherever you can, because theatre is theatre, and you can experience it anywhere.
When I am dancing, it feels like my prayer. It's like an offering. I offer my head back to the dance, I offer my shoulders back to the dance, my elbows, my hands, my spine, my knees, my feet, my whole self, my bones, my blood, my experience, my suffering... I offer it all back to the dance and I say: take it, do whatever you want with me. Release me.
If I go to the museum and see white bodies, black bodies, Asian bodies, Latino bodies, then I will expect to see those things every time I go. That matters a lot.
All the same it is being said everywhere that I played too softly, or rather, too delicately for people used to the piano-pounding of the artists here.
Say anything you want against The Seventh Seal. My fear of death - this infantile fixation of mine - was, at that moment, overwhelming. I felt myself in contact with death day and night, and my fear was tremendous. When I finished the picture, my fear went away. I have the feeling simply of having painted a canvas in an enormous hurry - with enormous pretension but without any arrogance. I said, 'Here is a painting; take it, please.'
My duty is to make probable the improbable. If I tell you how I did it, I will ruin your experience.
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