Mason Cooley

Photography knows how to authenticate its misrepresentations.

— Mason Cooley

Being cultured is the least expensive form of respectability.

— Mason Cooley

Victimization has its privileges, and I want some.

— Mason Cooley

Inevitably, almost everything we say is either quotation or paraphrase.

— Mason Cooley

Modern literature seduces with insults, riddles, and inside stories.

— Mason Cooley

I keep renaming my motives, but continue doing the same things.

— Mason Cooley

First literature came to refer only to itself, the literary theory.

— Mason Cooley

A moment of eloquence enthralls us. An hour's worth leaves us stupefied.

— Mason Cooley

Secrets die when kept or revealed. They live by being faintly and uncertainly repeated.

— Mason Cooley

Children must be protected not because they are innocent but because they are powerless.

— Mason Cooley

My ambition in life: to become successful enough to resume my career as a neurasthenic.

— Mason Cooley

Gossip is dying out because fewer and fewer people care to talk about anything besides themselves.

— Mason Cooley

Like other secret lovers, many speak mockingly about popular culture to conceal their passion for it.

— Mason Cooley

Hatred of the mother is familiar, but the mother's hatred still comes as a surprise.

— Mason Cooley

The realist lies for advantage. The fantasist lies to give his dreams a flavor of reality.

— Mason Cooley

Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.

— Mason Cooley

Why is it forbidden in New York to acknowledge the charm and beauty of Los Angeles?

— Mason Cooley

Nature often seems like an idea that has had its day.

— Mason Cooley

The banker rubs his nose, thinking of his cat stalking something on the lawn.

— Mason Cooley

We express disappointment in everything except ourselves.

— Mason Cooley

My struggles with myself seldom reach aerobic level.

— Mason Cooley

I win on my merits; my opponents win by cheating.

— Mason Cooley

I tried self-sacrifice a couple of times in my youth.

— Mason Cooley

Good manners protect the privileged, but leave the unprivileged more vulnerable.

— Mason Cooley

The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.

— Mason Cooley

Healthy vanity sweeps through life. Sickly vanity lies in bed.

— Mason Cooley

Talk about yourself as much as you like, but do not expect others to listen.

— Mason Cooley

Futility has become a great subject, full of opportunities.

— Mason Cooley

We are more tied to our faults than to our virtues.

— Mason Cooley

Victory brings obliviousness; defeat, attentiveness.

— Mason Cooley

Moo may represent an idea, but only the cow knows.

— Mason Cooley

Being charming takes time and effort, and I am busy.

— Mason Cooley

Self-righteous victims invite extra nails.

— Mason Cooley

I cling to depression, thinking it a form of truth.

— Mason Cooley

Always late: thus I make you the prisoner of my freedom.

— Mason Cooley

Change often makes accepted customs into crimes.

— Mason Cooley

Authority is conferred by position, not character.

— Mason Cooley

Without civilization, we would not turn into animals, but vegetables.

— Mason Cooley

Chastity is now treated as a sexual problem.

— Mason Cooley

When my beloved arrives, I yawn. When my beloved departs, I weep.

— Mason Cooley