---
title: "2 Sinister Quotes By Philip Roth"
description: "2 Sinister quotes by Philip Roth. Plus more from Philip Roth and more Sinister sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/philip-roth-681_achieve_nothing-has-a-more-sinister-effect-on-ar_403192.jpg"
---

> [Nothing has a more sinister effect on art than the artist's desire to prove that he's good. The terrible temptation of idealism! You must achieve mastery over your idealism, over your virtue as well as over your vice, aesthetic mastery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-has-a-more-sinister-effect-on-art-than-the-artist-s-desire-to/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/102/philip-roth-681_achieve_nothing-has-a-more-sinister-effect-on-ar_403192.jpg)

> [Nothing has a more sinister effect on art than the artist's desire to prove that he's good. The terrible temptation of idealism!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-has-a-more-sinister-effect-on-art-than-the-artist-s-desire-to-2/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/philip-roth-681_art_nothing-has-a-more-sinister-effect-on-ar_1285841.jpg)

## Other authors on Sinister

## More by Philip Roth

> [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“There are no reasons. She is obliged to be as she is. We all are. Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

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