Mason Cooley Quotes
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51. “Self-congratulation pleases only the speaker.”

— Mason Cooley

52. “Our civilization is shifting from science and technology to rhetoric and litigation.”

— Mason Cooley

53. “A budget takes the fun out of money.”

— Mason Cooley

54. “The villain may be good looking, but his smile is never quite right.”

— Mason Cooley

55. “Flattery and insults raise the same question: What do you want?”

— Mason Cooley

56. “With age, comfort becomes more seductive than beauty.”

— Mason Cooley

57. “I love money, but will money ever love me in return?”

— Mason Cooley

58. “People may show jealousy, but hide their envy.”

— Mason Cooley

59. “Lies and promises are necessary but not sufficient.”

— Mason Cooley

60. “Duty is whatever opposes inclination.”

— Mason Cooley

61. “Either offer me something I really like, or stop trying to tempt me.”

— Mason Cooley

62. “Change often makes accepted customs into crimes.”

— Mason Cooley

63. “Sentimentality is the respect the cold-hearted pay to feeling.”

— Mason Cooley

64. “The telephone gives us the happiness of being together yet safely apart.”

— Mason Cooley

65. “Those who refuse to play second fiddle may wind up playing no fiddle at all.”

— Mason Cooley

66. “The critical spirit never knows when to stop meddling.”

— Mason Cooley

67. “Nostalgia paints a smile on the stony face of the past.”

— Mason Cooley

68. “The narcissist enjoys being looked at and not looking back.”

— Mason Cooley

69. “Elegance thrives on exclusion.”

— Mason Cooley

70. “The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has more threat than comfort.”

— Mason Cooley

71. “Fortuna smiles and frowns according to a timetable surprising even to herself.”

— Mason Cooley

72. “Self-blame usually has an undertone of self-congratulation.”

— Mason Cooley

73. “The lonely become either thoughtful or empty.”

— Mason Cooley

74. “Who would not give up wit for power and beauty?”

— Mason Cooley

75. “Poor but happy is not a phrase invented by a poor person.”

— Mason Cooley

76. “As every cockroach knows, thriving on poisons is the secret of success.”

— Mason Cooley

77. “What lies behind appearance is usually another appearance.”

— Mason Cooley

78. “In the labyrinth of a difficult text, we find unmarked forks in the path, detours, blind alleys, loops that deliver us back to our point of entry, and finally the monster who whispers an unintelligible truth in our ears.”

— Mason Cooley

79. “Documents create a paper reality we call proof.”

— Mason Cooley

80. “Promiscuity is like never reading past the first page. Monogamy is like reading the same book over and over.”

— Mason Cooley

81. “Self-deception is nature; hypocrisy is art.”

— Mason Cooley

82. “Fantasy mirrors desire. Imagination reshapes it.”

— Mason Cooley

83. “Fluency avoids hard thoughts.”

— Mason Cooley

84. “Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.”

— Mason Cooley

85. “Self-pity dries up our sympathy for others.”

— Mason Cooley

86. “Laughter scares off lust.”

— Mason Cooley

87. “Money: power at its most liquid.”

— Mason Cooley

88. “Mistrust makes life difficult. Trust makes it risky.”

— Mason Cooley

89. “Never try to leap from a standstill.”

— Mason Cooley

90. “Youth demands more than ordinary life. Age clings to it.”

— Mason Cooley

91. “Nature knows no difference between weeds and flowers.”

— Mason Cooley

92. “I dream of vague shapes that hint of my heart’s desire.”

— Mason Cooley

93. “The Simple Life is not a simple life.”

— Mason Cooley

94. “The Enlightenment needs more shadow; the Romantic Movement less.”

— Mason Cooley

95. “Spontaneity comes after skill, not before.”

— Mason Cooley

96. “Vanity is easily duped. Ambition, not.”

— Mason Cooley

97. “Life just keeps unfolding, ignoring our praise or blame.”

— Mason Cooley

98. “Unconditional love is a lofty ideal, but unconditional hate is a fact well documented by history.”

— Mason Cooley

99. “I am open-minded on all questions I care nothing about.”

— Mason Cooley

100. “Every declaration of love contains an unstated list of exceptions and demands.”

— Mason Cooley