Whenever a husband and wife begin to discuss their marriage they are giving evidence at a coroner's inquest.
Interpretation
Discussing marriage can often lead to conflict rather than resolution, suggesting it's a delicate topic.
H. L. Mencken's quote humorously compares marital discussions to a coroner's inquest, implying that examining the state of a marriage can often feel like an investigation into a failed relationship. This metaphor suggests that like an inquest, these discussions can uncover problems and dissatisfaction, which can feel somber and potentially detrimental to the bond between partners, rather than fostering understanding and love.
In practice
During a wedding ceremony, one might quote this to highlight the challenges of marriage.
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.
The older you get, the more you start to realize that you can't win an argument in a relationship. You can't win a fight with your woman. Because if you lose, you lose. And if you win, you lose.
Well, wouldn't it have been easier if she'd just asked me whether I liked her better than you?" "Girls don't often ask questions like that," said Hermione. "Well, they should!" said Harry forcefully.
Will you, or will you not, quit me? I now demanded in a sudden passion, advancing close to him. "I would prefer not to quit you", he replied, gently emphasizing the not.
I hate a man who always says yes to me. When I say no I like a man who also says no.
There are only four kinds of people in the world - those who have been caregivers, those who are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.
I love a lot of people, understand none of them.
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