There are two kinds of Europeans: The smart ones, and those who stayed behind.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that those who actively seek new experiences and challenges are smarter than those who do not.
H. L. Mencken's quote implies a distinction between two types of Europeans: those who embrace change and take risks by venturing into the unknown, demonstrating intelligence and curiosity, and those who remain complacent in their familiar surroundings. This serves as a broader commentary on the value of exploration and adaptability in our lives, highlighting the importance of being proactive in seeking growth opportunities.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a motivational speech on travel and exploration.
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.
You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit.
Each undervalues that part of the materials of thought with which he is not familiar.
You can learn much about life from a checker game: surrender one to take two; don't make two moves at one time; move up, not down; and when you reach the top, you may move as you like.
There is no one, says another, whom fortune does not visit once in his life; but when she does not find him ready to receive her, she walks in at the door, and flies out at the window.
The man who is truly good and wise will bear with dignity whatever fortune sends, and will always make the best of his circumstances.
Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal. Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.
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