Mason Cooley Quotes
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351. “Denial of one appetite sharpens the others.”

— Mason Cooley

352. “Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth.”

— Mason Cooley

353. “Young girls giggle with nervous delight at the erections they inspire.”

— Mason Cooley

354. “Deconstruction: peering suspiciously at the text, I wait for it to make a slip and betray itself.”

— Mason Cooley

355. “The only peace is being out of earshot.”

— Mason Cooley

356. “The familiar changes as we cling to it.”

— Mason Cooley

357. “With decrepitude, longevity has overshot the mark.”

— Mason Cooley

358. “What I eat turns into my body. What I read turns into my mind.”

— Mason Cooley

359. “My father liked to moralize, and so do I. But he was in earnest, while I am embarrassed and pretend that I am merely being witty.”

— Mason Cooley

360. “Lies save trouble now, but may return in thunder and lightning.”

— Mason Cooley

361. “Consensus is usually made possible by vague language and shallow commitments.”

— Mason Cooley

362. “A happy arrangement: many people prefer cats to other people, and many cats prefer people to other cats.”

— Mason Cooley

363. “True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do.”

— Mason Cooley

364. “The grandeur of a philosophy does not certify its truth.”

— Mason Cooley

365. “The Muses inspire art and pretend not to notice when Mammon buys it.”

— Mason Cooley

366. “Readers transform a library from a mausoleum into many theaters.”

— Mason Cooley

367. “Grandiosity lessens as work proceeds.”

— Mason Cooley

368. “Attacking a belief can be the first step toward embracing it.”

— Mason Cooley

369. “Ideas about life organize perception; names of emotions organize sensations; rules of syntax organize thought. But pain comes on its own.”

— Mason Cooley

370. “To avoid eye contact, kiss.”

— Mason Cooley

371. “Sacred or not, sacrifice is an ugly business.”

— Mason Cooley

372. “The harp is an insipid instrument – no good for dancing, feasting, or marching, only for sitting primly in a parlor or on a cloud.”

— Mason Cooley

373. “Passion cooks. Reason cleans.”

— Mason Cooley

374. “I can neither return your love nor dismiss it.”

— Mason Cooley

375. “The greater the privilege, the more hidden the arrogance. The Emperor of China need not exist.”

— Mason Cooley

376. “Laughing at our friends, we avenge the disappointment they have caused.”

— Mason Cooley

377. “Good manners can render even virtue tolerable.”

— Mason Cooley

378. “Under attack, sentiments harden into dogma.”

— Mason Cooley

379. “As I review my life, I feel I must have missed the point, either then or now.”

— Mason Cooley

380. “Being enthusiastic settles nothing.”

— Mason Cooley

381. “Intelligence complicates. Wisdom simplifies.”

— Mason Cooley

382. “Transcendence is something between a metaphor and a miracle.”

— Mason Cooley

383. “Psychology keeps trying to vindicate human nature. History keeps undermining the effort.”

— Mason Cooley

384. “Self-realization is a comedown from salvation, but still gives us something to hope for.”

— Mason Cooley

385. “Acknowledge your limitations or they will tyrannize over you.”

— Mason Cooley

386. “I have forgiven you. Nevertheless, begone!”

— Mason Cooley

387. “The right time to die is never exactly now.”

— Mason Cooley

388. “The modernist writers found despair inspirational.”

— Mason Cooley

389. “My mother’s mild-eyed sadness looks at me from the eyes of those I love.”

— Mason Cooley

390. “Pornography does not inspire violence, but you can break a leg trying to imitate it.”

— Mason Cooley

391. “Growth provides novel experiences for youth; decay the same, alas, for age.”

— Mason Cooley

392. “As a comforter, philosophy cannot compete with a good dinner.”

— Mason Cooley

393. “Victimization has its privileges, and I want some.”

— Mason Cooley

394. “The passions are the same in every conflict, large or small.”

— Mason Cooley

395. “Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.”

— Mason Cooley

396. “Bad faith makes the most of every ambiguity.”

— Mason Cooley

397. “Disobedient parents are a great trouble to their children.”

— Mason Cooley

398. “Pride sings and dances; humility sighs.”

— Mason Cooley

399. “To appear well dressed, be skinny and tall.”

— Mason Cooley

400. “When you feel protective toward your parents, you have become an adult.”

— Mason Cooley