Top 500 Mason Cooley Quotes (2025 Update)
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451. “The limitations of pleasure cannot be overcome by more pleasure.”

— Mason Cooley

452. “You are as happy as you think you are, but not necessarily as miserable as you imagine.”

— Mason Cooley

453. “The nudes of art are not so distant from pornography as prudish pedants pretend.”

— Mason Cooley

454. “True wit has a grave intention.”

— Mason Cooley

455. “Age must give way to youth, no doubt. But not yet, not yet.”

— Mason Cooley

456. “Finding a thought for an aphorism is not hard. Putting a kink in its tail is the hard part.”

— Mason Cooley

457. “A sentimental aphorism is even more a surprise than a hard- boiled sonnet.”

— Mason Cooley

458. “Some live in a state of passionate indecision.”

— Mason Cooley

459. “Life is the risk we cannot refuse.”

— Mason Cooley

460. “Children would die of terror if they knew the folly and ignorance of their caretakers.”

— Mason Cooley

461. “The desire to perform impedes conversation.”

— Mason Cooley

462. “Great talkers do not stop for breath, and never look at the clock.”

— Mason Cooley

463. “Never ask a bore a question.”

— Mason Cooley

464. “The sentimental want to be thrilled by everything.”

— Mason Cooley

465. “The rich feel full of merit.”

— Mason Cooley

466. “Death is frightening, and so is Eternal Life.”

— Mason Cooley

467. “Pain pays no attention to moans or excuses.”

— Mason Cooley

468. “Prudence does not save us, but shows us pictures of our destroyers.”

— Mason Cooley

469. “I am forbidden sugar, fat, and alcohol. So hooray, I guess, for oatmeal, lemon juice, and chicken soup.”

— Mason Cooley

470. “Lonely people console themselves with self-absorption or curiosity.”

— Mason Cooley

471. “The realist lies for advantage. The fantasist lies to give his dreams a flavor of reality.”

— Mason Cooley

472. “Cruelty is softened by fear, not pity.”

— Mason Cooley

473. “Complainers detest each other.”

— Mason Cooley

474. “Once I find the right maxim to apply, I feel that I have done all that can be expected of me.”

— Mason Cooley

475. “Clothes make the body both mysterious and historical.”

— Mason Cooley

476. “Explanations comfort us by giving the impression that there is an order in things.”

— Mason Cooley

477. “Sweet smiles soften judgment. Sweet haunches unseat it.”

— Mason Cooley

478. “Life is struggle and sleep.”

— Mason Cooley

479. “The limits of prudence: one cannot jump out of a burning building gradually.”

— Mason Cooley

480. “Complainers rule out happiness, mentioning it only as something lost.”

— Mason Cooley

481. “Old photograph: amid the set poses of her family, a young girl smiles and raises her hand a little.”

— Mason Cooley

482. “Commitments, not feelings, hold life together.”

— Mason Cooley

483. “Never lie in writing.”

— Mason Cooley

484. “Arrogance rides triumphantly through the gates, barely glancing at the old woman about to cut the rope and spring shut the trap.”

— Mason Cooley

485. “A Museum of fetishes would give special attention to the history of underwear.”

— Mason Cooley

486. “To win hearts, smile kindly on people’s weaknesses.”

— Mason Cooley

487. “Tales of adultery are much improved by period costumes.”

— Mason Cooley

488. “Self-conscious? Try a wig, a corset, a veil, a beard. Or cultivate shamelessness.”

— Mason Cooley

489. “In art, a dress is never just a dress; nor in life either.”

— Mason Cooley

490. “Dogs often remind us of the human, ail-too human. Cats, never.”

— Mason Cooley

491. “Rule of art: let half-blind purpose lead you.”

— Mason Cooley

492. “Faith no doubt moves mountains, but not necessarily to where we want them.”

— Mason Cooley

493. “Pedagogical romances leave the mentor disgruntled, the pupil confused.”

— Mason Cooley

494. “Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.”

— Mason Cooley

495. “The haiku lets meaning float; the aphorism pins it down.”

— Mason Cooley

496. “Profundity often goes past the issue to some deep but useless truth.”

— Mason Cooley

497. “Happiness is often hard-hearted.”

— Mason Cooley

498. “I would enjoy experiencing the hollowness of success at first- hand.”

— Mason Cooley

499. “Suffering teaches us only that we suffer. Joy shows us which way to go.”

— Mason Cooley

500. “Boredom makes me sleepy or restless.”

— Mason Cooley