After an argument, silence may mean acceptance or the continuation of resistance by other means.
- Mason Cooley
Other, May, Means, Argument
The man of sensibility is too busy talking about his feelings to have time for good deeds.
- Mason Cooley
Deeds, His, Too, Sensibility
The sage belongs to the same obsolete repertory as the virtuous maiden and the enlightened monarch.
- Mason Cooley
Same, Maiden, Belongs, Obsolete
While we are reading, we are all Don Quixote.
- Mason Cooley
Reading, Don Quixote, While, Quixote
Worried about being a dull fellow? You might develop your talent for being irritating.
- Mason Cooley
Talent, Might, Fellow, Irritating
Preserving tradition has become a nice hobby, like stamp collecting.
- Mason Cooley
Tradition, Like, Stamp, Hobby
Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.
- Mason Cooley
Actual, Itself, Unlike, Fictional
Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.
- Mason Cooley
Nature, Society, Itself, Human Society
When a man bores a woman, she complains. When a woman bores a man, he ignores her.
- Mason Cooley
Woman, She, Ignores, Complains
Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation.
- Mason Cooley
Art, Innovation, Begins, Imitation
Reason enables us to get around in the world of ideas, but cannot prescribe our thoughts.
- Mason Cooley
Thoughts, World, Reason, Prescribe
Lust and greed are more gullible than innocence.
- Mason Cooley
Innocence, More, Gullible, Lust
Love begins with an image; lust with a sensation.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Begins, Image, Lust
Fail, and your friends feel superior. Succeed, and they feel resentful.
- Mason Cooley
Succeed, Fail, Superior, Resentful
Psychology keeps trying to vindicate human nature. History keeps undermining the effort.
- Mason Cooley
Psychology, Undermining, Vindicate
An omnipotent God is the only being with no reason to lie.
- Mason Cooley
Lie, Reason, Only, Omnipotent
In psychoanalysis, only the fee is exactly what it seems to be.
- Mason Cooley
Only, Fee, Exactly, Psychoanalysis
Young poets bewail the passing of love; old poets, the passing of time. There is surprisingly little difference.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Young, Old, Surprisingly
Cynicism is full of naive disappointments.
- Mason Cooley
Cynicism, Disappointments, Naive
Innocence is thought charming because it offers delightful possibilities for exploitation.
- Mason Cooley
Possibilities, Offers, Exploitation
I know that I am what I am. But I am not sure what I am.
- Mason Cooley
I Am, Know, Sure, I Am What I Am
The beginning of self-knowledge: recognizing that your motives are the same as other people's.
- Mason Cooley
Beginning, Other, Same, Self-Knowledge
Young men preen. Old men scheme.
- Mason Cooley
Young, Old Men, Scheme, Young Men
Minds will wander even during the Last Judgment.
- Mason Cooley
Minds, Judgment, Last, Wander
Most reputations are not ruined but forgotten.
- Mason Cooley
Forgotten, Most, Reputations, Ruined
A great reader seldom recognizes his solitude.
- Mason Cooley
Seldom, His, Reader, Solitude
People who abhor solitude may abhor company almost as much.
- Mason Cooley
Company, May, Almost, Solitude
My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.
- Mason Cooley
Never, Carpet, Set, Fireplace
No chaos, no creation. Evidence: the kitchen at mealtime.
- Mason Cooley
Chaos, Creation, Evidence, Kitchen
Critic's delight: scolding the Mighty Dead.
- Mason Cooley
Dead, Critic, Delight, Mighty
Observe decorum, and it will open a path to morality.
- Mason Cooley
Path, Will, Morality, Decorum
An academic dialect is perfected when its terms are hard to understand and refer only to one another.
- Mason Cooley
Academic, Dialect, Terms, Refer
First literature came to refer only to itself, the literary theory.
- Mason Cooley
Literature, Itself, Literary, Refer
My mind is led astray by every faint rustle.
- Mason Cooley
Mind, Rustle, Led, Astray
If beggars do not hate the rest of us, they are even more abject than I had imagined.
- Mason Cooley
Rest, More, Had, Beggars
Romantics consider common sense vulgar.
- Mason Cooley
Common, Sense, Vulgar, Common Sense
Philosophy likes to keen common sense on the run.
- Mason Cooley
Common, Sense, Keen, Common Sense
It is possible to interpret without observing, but not to observe without interpreting.
- Mason Cooley
Observing, Interpreting, Interpret
Reputation runs behind the current state of affairs.
- Mason Cooley
Reputation, Behind, Current, Runs
Fastidious taste makes enjoyment a struggle.
- Mason Cooley
Enjoyment, Taste, Makes, Fastidious
Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror, my benevolent soul shrinks back.
- Mason Cooley
Mirror, Face, Seeing, Malevolent
The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.
- Mason Cooley
Carefree, Seldom, Aphorism, Triumphant
In the street, the gaze of desire is furtive or menacing.
- Mason Cooley
Desire, Street, Menacing, Gaze
In love, we worry more about the meaning of silences than the meaning of words.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Worry, Silences, Meaning Of
Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.
- Mason Cooley
New, Rooms, Villages, Wooden
Magic trick: to make people disappear, ask them to fulfill their promises.
- Mason Cooley
Magic, Ask, Fulfill, Promises
Outside books, we avoid colorful characters.
- Mason Cooley
Outside, Books, Characters, Colorful
Few friendships could survive the moodiness of love affairs.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Survive, Could, Affairs
Rescue someone unwilling to look after himself, and he will cling to you like a dangerous illness.
- Mason Cooley
Will, Like, Unwilling, Cling
Logic and fact keep interfering with the easy flow of conversation.
- Mason Cooley
Fact, Keep, Interfering, Flow
Humor does not rescue us from unhappiness, but enables us to move back from it a little.
- Mason Cooley
Humor, Move, Does, Rescue
Malice is always authentic and sincere.
- Mason Cooley
Authentic, Always, Sincere, Malice
Journalism never admits that nothing much is happening.
- Mason Cooley
Never, Nothing, Happening, Journalism
If the world would apologize, I might consider a reconciliation.
- Mason Cooley
World, Might, Would, Reconciliation
The gods are watching, but idly, yawning.
- Mason Cooley
Watching, Gods, Idly
When sages commend excess, Desire is sick.
- Mason Cooley
Desire, Sick, Excess, Commend
Listening to people keeps them entertained.
- Mason Cooley
Listening, People, Them, Entertained
I love you is the inscription on Pandora's box.
- Mason Cooley
Love, I Love You, I Love, Pandora
Promiscuity is like never reading past the first page. Monogamy is like reading the same book over and over.
- Mason Cooley
Never, Over, Same, Promiscuity
In the game of love, the losers are more celebrated than the winners.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Game, Winners, Celebrated
My parents wanted me to solace them for sorrows they denied having had.
- Mason Cooley
Me, Wanted, Having, Denied
I have learned to keep to myself how exceptional I am.
- Mason Cooley
I Am, How, Learned, I Have Learned
Families in which nothing is ever discussed usually have a lot not to discuss.
- Mason Cooley
Which, Lot, Ever, Discuss
Self-hatred and self-love are equally self-centered.
- Mason Cooley
Self-Love, Equally, Self-Centered
The beloved is the ultimate fetish.
- Mason Cooley
Fetish, Ultimate, Beloved
City people make most of the fuss about the charms of country life.
- Mason Cooley
Country, Most, City People, Charms
Melancholy is as seductive as Ecstasy.
- Mason Cooley
Seductive, Ecstasy, Melancholy
Think carefully before asking for justice. Mercy might be safer.
- Mason Cooley
Think, Before, Carefully, Mercy
A sense of blessedness comes from a change of heart, not from more blessings.
- Mason Cooley
Change, Blessings, More, Blessedness
The horse stares at its captor, barely remembering the free kicks of youth.
- Mason Cooley
Horse, Remembering, Barely, Kicks
The ravaged face in the mirror hides the enchanting youth that is the real me.
- Mason Cooley
Mirror, Face, Enchanting, Hides
Kafka: cries of helplessness in twenty powerful volumes.
- Mason Cooley
Powerful, Cries, Kafka, Twenty
If modesty disappeared, so would exhibitionism.
- Mason Cooley
Modesty, Would, Disappeared
Ideology has shaped the very sofa on which I sit.
- Mason Cooley
Very, Sofa, Which, Sit
Moo may represent an idea, but only the cow knows.
- Mason Cooley
Only, Idea, May, Represent
Sloth, not ill-will, makes me unjust.
- Mason Cooley
Me, Unjust, Makes, Sloth
In bridge clubs and in councils of state, the passions are the same.
- Mason Cooley
Bridge, Same, Clubs, Passions
Staid middle age loves the hurricane passions of opera.
- Mason Cooley
Opera, Middle, Staid, Passions
The passions are the same in every conflict, large or small.
- Mason Cooley
Small, Same, Large, Passions
If you call failures experiments, you can put them in your resume and claim them as achievements.
- Mason Cooley
Wisdom, Resume, Call, Claim
Old age: I fall asleep during the funerals of my friends.
- Mason Cooley
Fall, Old, Asleep, Funerals
The higher the moral tone, the more suspect the speaker.
- Mason Cooley
More, Tone, Speaker, Suspect
Art seduces, but does not exploit.
- Mason Cooley
Art, Does, Exploit
At sixty, I know little more about wisdom than I did at thirty, but I know a great deal more about folly.
- Mason Cooley
Sixty, Deal, Folly, Great Deal
The novel avoids the sublime and seeks out the interesting.
- Mason Cooley
Interesting, Sublime, Seeks, Novel
Reality is the name we give to our disappointments.
- Mason Cooley
Reality, Name, Give, Disappointments
Excuses change nothing, but make everyone feel better.
- Mason Cooley
Change, Better, Everyone, Excuses
Often, when I want to consult my impulses, I cannot find them.
- Mason Cooley
Want, Find, Cannot, Impulses
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has more threat than comfort.
- Mason Cooley
Soul, More, Immortality, Doctrine
The power of lying is much less than the power of what is not to be discussed.
- Mason Cooley
Power, Less, Than, Discussed
Thinking about the universe has now been handed over to specialists. The rest of us merely read about it.
- Mason Cooley
Rest, Over, Been, Specialists
Language is the friendliest of the things from which we cannot escape.
- Mason Cooley
Things, Which, We Cannot, Escape
Poor but happy is not a phrase invented by a poor person.
- Mason Cooley
Person, Poor, Phrase, Invented
Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.
- Mason Cooley
Travel, Think, Never, Travelers
Romance is tempestuous. Love is calm.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Romantic, Romance, Love Is
Women encourage men to be childish, then scold them.
- Mason Cooley
Men, Encourage, Childish, Scold
Affection reproaches, but does not denounce.
- Mason Cooley
Does, Denounce, Affection
I'm being treated like a sex object, cried the lady. No matter. I will take care of it, said Time soothingly.
- Mason Cooley
Will, Like, Treated, Object
After my spectacular failures, I could not be satisfied with an ordinary success.
- Mason Cooley
Satisfied, Failures, Could, Spectacular
Sincerity: willingness to spend one's own money.
- Mason Cooley
Money, Own, Spend, Sincerity
Three meals plus bedtime make four sure blessings a day.
- Mason Cooley
Blessings, Four, Sure, Plus
Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves.
- Mason Cooley
Rise Above, Stop, Brings, Rise
The real secrets are not the ones I tell.
- Mason Cooley
Real, Tell, Secrets
Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.
- Mason Cooley
Habits, Fickle, Most, Bad Habits
Why do we never expect dull people to be rascals?
- Mason Cooley
Never, Expect, Rascals, Never Expect
Death is frightening, and so is Eternal Life.
- Mason Cooley
Life, Death, Eternal, Frightening
The aim of literary ambition is to demonstrate one's greatness of soul.
- Mason Cooley
Greatness, Ambition, Aim, Demonstrate
Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge.
- Mason Cooley
Truth, Simple, Simple Truth, Regards
'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'
- Mason Cooley
Roots, Version, Your, Ghetto
Amazing that the human race has taken enough time out from thinking about food or sex to create the arts and sciences.
- Mason Cooley
Sex, Race, About, Enough Time
The shades of respectability begin to close about the greying head.
- Mason Cooley
Age, Head, Shades, Close
Mistakes are the only universal form of originality.
- Mason Cooley
Only, Originality, Form, Universal
Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.
- Mason Cooley
Confused, Leaves, Exciting, Rage
Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.
- Mason Cooley
Hard Things, Things, Makes, Harder
Living alone makes it harder to find someone to blame.
- Mason Cooley
Alone, Living, Someone, Harder
A real idea keeps changing and appears in many places.
- Mason Cooley
Places, Idea, Appears, Keeps
Middle age went by while I was mourning for my lost youth.
- Mason Cooley
Lost, Middle, Mourning, Middle Age
Never ask a bore a question.
- Mason Cooley
Question, Never, Ask, Bore
Bad faith likes discourse on friendship and loyalty.
- Mason Cooley
Friendship, Loyalty, Bad, Discourse
As equality increases, so does the number of people struggling for predominance.
- Mason Cooley
Equality, Number, Increases, Struggling
Never try to leap from a standstill.
- Mason Cooley
Try, Never, Standstill, Leap
Creativity makes a leap, then looks to see where it is.
- Mason Cooley
Looks, See, Makes, Leap
Events are called inevitable only after they have occurred.
- Mason Cooley
Only, Inevitable, Occurred, Events
Conscious thought is the tidying up at the end.
- Mason Cooley
End, Thought, Up, Conscious
Friends are sometimes boring, but enemies never.
- Mason Cooley
Never, Sometimes, Boring, Enemies
For many, immaturity is an ideal, not a defect.
- Mason Cooley
Ideal, Immaturity, Many, Defect
Complainers change their complaints, but they never reduce the amount of time spent in complaining.
- Mason Cooley
Never, Reduce, Amount, Complaints
To be successful be ahead of your time, but only a little.
- Mason Cooley
Ahead, Only, Your, Successful
Faith moves mountains, but you have to keep pushing while you are praying.
- Mason Cooley
Mountains, Moves, Keep, Praying
Documents create a paper reality we call proof.
- Mason Cooley
Call, Paper, Documents, Proof
Opportunity knocks, but doesn't always answer to its name.
- Mason Cooley
Name, Always, Answer, Knocks
Ultimately, blind faith is the only kind.
- Mason Cooley
Faith, Blind, Kind, Blind Faith
Writers mean more than they say and say more than they mean.
- Mason Cooley
Mean, More, Than, They Say
A blocked path also offers guidance.
- Mason Cooley
Path, Blocked, Offers, Guidance
Who would not give up wit for power and beauty?
- Mason Cooley
Beauty, Give, Would, Wit
Hypocrisy is the outside of cynicism.
- Mason Cooley
Outside, Cynicism, Hypocrisy
Fulfillment is often more trouble than it is worth.
- Mason Cooley
Trouble, More, Than, Fulfillment
Logic teaches rules for presentation, not thinking.
- Mason Cooley
Rules, Presentation, Teaches, Logic
People believe that photographs are true and therefore cannot be art.
- Mason Cooley
Art, True, Therefore, Photographs
The lonely become either thoughtful or empty.
- Mason Cooley
Alone, Thoughtful, Either, Become
Lying just for the fun of it is either art or pathology.
- Mason Cooley
Art, Either, Pathology, Lying
I read less and less. I have not forgiven books for their failure to tell me the truth and make me happy.
- Mason Cooley
Truth, Books, Read, Forgiven
Children use all their wiles to get their way with adults. Adults do the same with children.
- Mason Cooley
Children, Same, Use, Adult
Don't stare into a mirror when you are trying to solve a problem.
- Mason Cooley
Mirror, Problem, Trying, Stare
Many gloat over their own troubles.
- Mason Cooley
Own, Over, Many, Troubles
The man in the street is always a stranger.
- Mason Cooley
Man, Street, Always, Stranger
Hatred of the mother is familiar, but the mother's hatred still comes as a surprise.
- Mason Cooley
Mother, Surprise, Still, Familiar
Consciousness is our only reprieve from Time.
- Mason Cooley
Time, Consciousness, Only, Reprieve
If I play hard to get, soon the phone stops ringing altogether.
- Mason Cooley
Play, Altogether, Ringing, Phone
The passion for money is never fickle.
- Mason Cooley
Passion, Money, Never, Fickle
General statements omit what we really want to know. Example: some horses run faster than others.
- Mason Cooley
Run, Want, Some, Statements
Good parties create a temporary youthfulness.
- Mason Cooley
New Year's, Temporary, Parties
Flattery and insults raise the same question: What do you want?
- Mason Cooley
Question, Flattery, Same, Raise
Stated clearly enough, an idea may cancel itself out.
- Mason Cooley
Idea, May, Itself, Cancel
If success is a habit, it is a hard one to acquire.
- Mason Cooley
Success, Habit, Success Is, Acquire
Expensive advertising courts us with hints and images. The ordinary kind merely says, Buy.
- Mason Cooley
Kind, Images, Hints, Merely
To understand a literary style, consider what it omits.
- Mason Cooley
Style, Understand, Literary, Consider
If you are going to break a Law of Art, make the crime interesting.
- Mason Cooley
Art, Law, Going, Crime
If we think about the obvious long enough, it dissolves.
- Mason Cooley
Enough, Think, About, Obvious
When I prayed for success, I forgot to ask for sound sleep and good digestion.
- Mason Cooley
Sleep, Sound, Good Digestion, Forgot
A blunt statement can be as false as any other.
- Mason Cooley
Other, False, Statement, Blunt
Mind and body obstruct one another's pleasures.
- Mason Cooley
Mind, Body, Another, Pleasures
Old and young disbelieve one another's truths.
- Mason Cooley
Young, Old, Another, Disbelieve
Folly always knows the answer.
- Mason Cooley
Always, Knows, Folly, Answer
We are more tied to our faults than to our virtues.
- Mason Cooley
More, Than, Tied, Faults
Innocence: I am only stepping on your face because it lies in my path.
- Mason Cooley
Path, I Am, Face, Stepping
My thought has been shaped by books; my desires by pictures.
- Mason Cooley
Thought, Been, Books, Pictures
The discontented believe that their regrets are about the past.
- Mason Cooley
Past, Regrets, About, Discontented
The educated do not share a common body of information, but a common state of mind.
- Mason Cooley
Mind, Educated, Common, Share
Talk about yourself as much as you like, but do not expect others to listen.
- Mason Cooley
Expect, Like, About, Listen
A happy arrangement: many people prefer cats to other people, and many cats prefer people to other cats.
- Mason Cooley
Cats, Pet, Other, Arrangement
Children now expect their parents to audition for approval.
- Mason Cooley
Children, Expect, Approval, Audition
Some loves are like a vice that has ceased to give pleasure.
- Mason Cooley
Give, Some, Like, Vice
Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.
- Mason Cooley
Civilization, Turn, Would, Vegetables
Few artists can afford artistic temperament.
- Mason Cooley
Artists, Afford, Few, Temperament
Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.
- Mason Cooley
Last, Critic, Believes, Outwit
Imagination has rules, but we can only guess what they are.
- Mason Cooley
Imagination, Rules, Only, Guess
Fears and lies intensify consciousness.
- Mason Cooley
Consciousness, Lies, Fears
Other people's beliefs may be myths, but not mine.
- Mason Cooley
Other, May, Mine, Myths
Rereading, we find a new book.
- Mason Cooley
Book, New, Find, New Book
Office politics are bloody-minded, but weak on content.
- Mason Cooley
Politics, Office, Weak, Content
To confer dignity, forgive. To express contempt, forget.
- Mason Cooley
Forgiveness, Forgive, Forget, Contempt
Hatred observes with more care than love does.
- Mason Cooley
Love, More, Does, Hatred
Cure for an obsession: get another one.
- Mason Cooley
Funny, Get, Another, Obsession
Eternity eludes us, even as a thought.
- Mason Cooley
Thought, Eternity, Even, Eludes
We are prepared for insults, but compliments leave us baffled.
- Mason Cooley
Compliments, Leave, Prepared, Baffled
Most people regard getting their way as a matter of simple justice.
- Mason Cooley
Most, Getting, Regard, Justice
I see what you mean, but I do not think what you think.
- Mason Cooley
Think, Mean, See, I See
Cruelty is softened by fear, not pity.
- Mason Cooley
Fear, Pity, Cruelty
Even boredom has its crises.
- Mason Cooley
Boredom, Even, Crises
In every death, a busy world comes to an end.
- Mason Cooley
Death, End, World, Busy
What lies behind appearance is usually another appearance.
- Mason Cooley
Appearance, Behind, Another, Lies
Taste refers to the past, imagination to the future.
- Mason Cooley
Future, Past, Imagination, Taste
I did not know I was in my prime until afterwards.
- Mason Cooley
Know, Prime, Until, Afterwards
Money is to my social existence what health is to my body.
- Mason Cooley
Health, Money, Social, Existence
Fantasy mirrors desire. Imagination reshapes it.
- Mason Cooley
Imagination, Desire, Mirrors, Fantasy
There are different rules for reading, for thinking, and for talking. Writing blends all three of them.
- Mason Cooley
Writing, Reading, Them, Rules
Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.
- Mason Cooley
Hope, Begins, Getting, Bed
Dancing and running shake up the chemistry of happiness.
- Mason Cooley
Dancing, Running, Shake, Chemistry
Well-behaved: he always speaks as if his mother might be listening.
- Mason Cooley
Mother, Always, His, Listening
Money: power at its most liquid.
- Mason Cooley
Money, Power, Most, Liquid
The wisdom of age: don't stop walking.
- Mason Cooley
Wisdom, Age, Walking, Stop
Kindness eases everything almost as much as money does.
- Mason Cooley
Money, Almost, Does, Kindness
Self-reform is the only kind that works.
- Mason Cooley
Kind, Only, Works
The time I kill is killing me.
- Mason Cooley
Me, Time
Only the broken-hearted know the truth about love.
- Mason Cooley
Love, Moving On, Only, Truth
The only peace is being out of earshot.
- Mason Cooley
Only, Out, Being, Peace
Forgiveness is like faith. You have to keep reviving it.
- Mason Cooley
Faith, Like, Keep, Forgiveness
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