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Mason Cooley

63 quotes

Mason Cooley (1927–2002) was an American aphorist known for his witty, compact observations about modern urban life, relationships, and human nature. A professor of English and French at the College of Staten Island, Cooley published several collections of aphorisms that are admired for their precision and sardonic humor.

“Cruelty is softened by fear, not pity.”

— Mason Cooley

Fear

All Quotes by Mason Cooley

“If you are going to break a Law of Art, make the crime interesting.”

— Mason Cooley

Art

“Taste refers to the past, imagination to the future.”

— Mason Cooley

Future

“Living alone makes it harder to find someone to blame.”

— Mason Cooley

Alone

“Bad faith likes discourse on friendship and loyalty.”

— Mason Cooley

Faith

“Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage.”

— Mason Cooley

Nature

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

— Mason Cooley

Beauty

“After my spectacular failures, I could not be satisfied with an ordinary success.”

— Mason Cooley

Success

“Fantasy mirrors desire. Imagination reshapes it.”

— Mason Cooley

Imagination

“If you call failures experiments, you can put them in your resume and claim them as achievements.”

— Mason Cooley

Wisdom

“At sixty, I know little more about wisdom than I did at thirty, but I know a great deal more about folly.”

— Mason Cooley

Wisdom

“The wisdom of age: don't stop walking.”

— Mason Cooley

Age

“Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge.”

— Mason Cooley

Truth

“If success is a habit, it is a hard one to acquire.”

— Mason Cooley

Success

“Even cats grow lonely and anxious.”

— Mason Cooley

Pet

“The power of lying is much less than the power of what is not to be discussed.”

— Mason Cooley

Power

“Office politics are bloody-minded, but weak on content.”

— Mason Cooley

Politics

“Middle age went by while I was mourning for my lost youth.”

— Mason Cooley

Age

“Ultimately, blind faith is the only kind.”

— Mason Cooley

Faith

“Cruelty is softened by fear, not pity.”

— Mason Cooley

Fear

“Dancing and running shake up the chemistry of happiness.”

— Mason Cooley

Happiness