Men always try to make virtues of their weaknesses. Fear of death and fear of life both become piety.
Interpretation
People often elevate their flaws or fears to noble qualities, suggesting that both fear of death and fear of living can be seen as virtuous.
This quote by H. L. Mencken highlights the tendency of individuals to disguise their personal fears and weaknesses as virtues. By equating the fear of death and the fear of life to piety, Mencken suggests that what is often perceived as a noble quality may actually stem from underlying insecurities or human flaws. This perspective invites a reflection on how society often celebrates certain fears that may, in fact, be manifestations of weakness instead of true virtue.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the concept of morality and how societal values shape our understanding of virtue.
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.
No place of grace for those who avoid the Face. No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the Voice.
Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life
Neutrality is for referees in a football game. You have to take a stand. The really, really good journalists always take a stand with those who have no power, with those who have no rights, and with those who have no voice.
The energy of the mind is the essence of life.
The battle against the Devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the Archangel, is still being fought today, because the Devil is still alive and active in the world.
One always has exaggerated ideas about what one doesn't know.
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