There is something even more valuable to civilization than wisdom, and that is character.
Interpretation
Character is more important for society than wisdom alone.
In this quote, H. L. Mencken emphasizes the essence of character as a fundamental quality that drives the fabric of civilization. While wisdom is highly regarded, it is character—the morality, integrity, and ethical principles of individuals—that ultimately shapes a just and thriving society.
In practice
In a speech about leadership qualities during a conference.
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.
Every time man makes a new experiment he always learns more. He cannot learn less.
Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle.
I think time management as a label encourages people to view each 24-hour period as a slot in which they should pack as much as possible.
I think it's very important that you make your own decision about what you are. Therefore you're responsible for your actions, so you don't blame other people.
While we are born with curiosity and wonder and our early years full of the adventure they bring, I know such inherent joys are often lost. I also know that, being deep within us, their latent glow can be fanned to flame again by awareness and an open mind.
And the quality of good judgement is clearly a form of knowledge and skill, as it is because of knowledge and not because of ignorance that we judge well.
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