All Gore Vidal Quotes
- It is natural for men to want power. But to seek power actively takes a temperament baffling to both the simple and the wise. The… Actively
- I suspect that our own faith in psychiatry will seem as touchingly quaint to the future as our grandparents' belief in phrenology seems now to… Belief
- For half a century photography has been the "art form" of the untalented. Obviously some pictures are more satisfactory than others, but where is credit… Art
- When the Presidential virus attacks the system there is a tendency for the patient in his fever to move from the Right or the Left… Attacks
- I am a correctionist. If something is wrong in society, it must be fixed. At least one should try to fix it. Fix
- If satire is to be effective, the audience must be aware of the thing satirized. Audience
- Next to "I win," "I told you so" are the sweetest words. Next
- There are certain truths so true that they are practically unbelievable. Certain
- Writers who teach tend to prefer literary theory to literature and tenure to all else. Writers who do not teach prefer the contemplation of Careers… All
- Great critics do not explicate a text; they describe it and then report on what they have described, if the description itself is not the… Criticism
- Laughing at someone else is an excellent way of learning how to laugh at oneself; and questioning what seem to be the absurd beliefs of… Absurd
- Of course, it is possible for any citizen with time to spare, and a canny eye, to work out what is actually going on, but… Actually Going
- There is hardly an American male of my generation who has not at one time or another tried to master the victory cry of the… Accompaniment
- When Ronald Reagan's career in show business came to an end, he was hired to impersonate, first, a California governor and then an American president… All
- The last best hope of earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at a… Adultery
- I find in most novels no imagination at all. They seem to think the highest form of the novel is to write about marriage, because… All
- There's a lot to be said for being nouveau riche, and the Reagans mean to say it all. All
- There are two things you never turn down: sex and appearing on television. Appearing
- You will be favorable to Burr, and so must fail, because the American reader cannot bear a surprise. He knows that this is the greatest… Admissible
- Ronald Reagan: a triumph of the embalmer's art. Art