Mason Cooley

Telescopes and binoculars endanger the ever-distant sublime.

— Mason Cooley

Alone, lonely people talk to themselves. In company, they often continue.

— Mason Cooley

Many who take up burdens come to resent being put upon.

— Mason Cooley

An old man drinks tea and reads the newspaper--forgetting age for a moment.

— Mason Cooley

Plato's Symposium shows that flirtation and philosophy can further one another.

— Mason Cooley

My parents wanted me to solace them for sorrows they denied having had.

— Mason Cooley

Theory now: concern for truth must not hobble our discussion.

— Mason Cooley

Even a cow creates ambiguous signifiers. The moo of mystery.

— Mason Cooley

Curiosity engenders both science and scandal.

— Mason Cooley

Lechery is secretive, but must finally reveal itself to at least one.

— Mason Cooley

The novelty we want is always close to the familiar.

— Mason Cooley

The realism of failure, the romance of success.

— Mason Cooley

Nothing more cheerful than talking about our friends shortcomings.

— Mason Cooley

In youth, love and art. In age, investments and antiques.

— Mason Cooley

Intelligence complicates. Wisdom simplifies.

— Mason Cooley

Virtue sometimes pretends. Vice is always sincere.

— Mason Cooley

Boredom, not the will, is the mother of change. Necessity is the father.

— Mason Cooley

Nostalgia paints a smile on the stony face of the past.

— Mason Cooley

The avant-garde is now stranded in the past.

— Mason Cooley

I love you to distraction, but Icannot see you until Thursday.

— Mason Cooley

If you belong to the underclass, you are already guilty.

— Mason Cooley

An insult angers me. Being ignored crushes me.

— Mason Cooley

Eagerness to please attracts bullies and bores.

— Mason Cooley

In New York, one must collapse to be indolent.

— Mason Cooley

Modernized by tin roofs and T-shirts, Third World poverty is no longer picturesque.

— Mason Cooley

The facts, even the real ones, must be imagined before they can be stated.

— Mason Cooley

Drunks do not have friends, but accomplices.

— Mason Cooley

Death is hacking away at my address book and party lists.

— Mason Cooley

Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.

— Mason Cooley

Rule of science: only exclude purpose, and Nature will reveal her causes.

— Mason Cooley

As a comforter, philosophy cannot compete with a good dinner.

— Mason Cooley

Health can be squandered, but not stored up.

— Mason Cooley

Old age likes indecency. It's a sign of life.

— Mason Cooley

Victorian sorrow: the stars are winking in the sky, but not for us.

— Mason Cooley

Attachments and bereavements are inseparable.

— Mason Cooley

If you are going to be rude, be quick about it.

— Mason Cooley

My thought has been shaped by books; my desires by pictures.

— Mason Cooley

Asceticism and celibacy can conceal many incapacities.

— Mason Cooley

While we are reading, we are all Don Quixote.

— Mason Cooley

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

— Mason Cooley