"The acting that one sees upon the..." - Quote by H L Mencken
The acting that one sees upon the stage does not show how human beings comport themselves in crises, but how actors think they ought to. It is thus, like poetry and religion, a device for gladdening the heart with what is palpably not true.
More by H L Mencken
“Government, in its very essence, is opposed to all increase in knowledge. Its tendency is always towards permanence and against change...[T]he progress of humanity, far from being the result of government, has been made entirely without its aid and in the face if its constant and bitter opposition.”
“The only way that a government can provide for jobs for all citizens is by deciding what every man should do.”
“The intelligent, like the unintelligent, are responsive to propaganda.”
More on Acting
“With film roles, it just has to be a character either I haven't done before, or a role with somebody really interesting or with an interesting person or group of people.”
“There has to be something in every role that interests you.”
“I just try to be honest and true to the character and play the part.”
More on Reality
“Reason is the cause of our falsification of the evidence of the senses. In so far as the senses show becoming, passing away, change, they do not lie.”
“What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.”
“One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead.”