Human life is basically a comedy. Even its tragedies often seem comic to the spectator, and not infrequently they actually have comic touches to the victim. Happiness probably consists largely in the capacity to detect and relish them. A man who can laugh, if only at himself, is never really miserable.
Interpretation
Life is often humorous, even amid tragedy, and true happiness involves recognizing and appreciating this humor.
H. L. Mencken's quote suggests that human life can be seen as a comedy, with its tragedies often possessing humorous elements that can be appreciated by both onlookers and those directly affected. Happiness, according to Mencken, arises from the ability to recognize and enjoy these moments of humor, and a person who is capable of laughing at themselves retains a sense of joy, which prevents true misery.
In practice
In a motivational speech about resilience, one might quote Mencken to illustrate the importance of maintaining a sense of humor through hardships.
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.
While the gentleman cherishes benign rule, the small man cherishes his native land. While the gentleman cherishes a respect for the law, the small man cherishes generous treatment.
By means of beauty all beautiful things become beautiful.
I prize the privilege of being alone.
All of our people all over the country-except the pure-blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over here on the Mayflower.
Every man lives in two realms: the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live.
Fur is not luxury: it is an industry of death and suffering.
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