A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources

There are many books of quotations, so that one might well wonder why Mr. Mencken should decide to bring out his own. Certainly it was not from a lack of knowledge of other works, because he himself refers to the famous Bartlett's, later revised by Christopher Morley, also the books by Hoyt and Stevenson. The Mencken book differs by being planned on a historical arrangement, adequate as to bibliography, by the omission of platitudes and by a free intermixture of unusual materials with the old and the hackneyed. He has chosen many Biblical quotations omitted by previous compilers, and he has selected somewhat from foreign writers and provided adequate translations. A long list of acknowledgments to various publishers indicates the extent of the writers from whom Mr. Mencken has selected.