Mason Cooley

Dirty old men, ignoring society, continue to follow nature.

— Mason Cooley

People believe that photographs are true and therefore cannot be art.

— Mason Cooley

As a youth, I sought out decadence; as an elder, I try to avoid decay.

— Mason Cooley

The truth usually has a slightly ugly look.

— Mason Cooley

The rich are happier than we are, and should be.

— Mason Cooley

A great reader seldom recognizes his solitude.

— Mason Cooley

The writer considers sayability before anything else.

— Mason Cooley

The nudes of art are not so distant from pornography as prudish pedants pretend.

— Mason Cooley

The past is ignorant of the present. Be careful in taking its advice.

— Mason Cooley

Listening to people keeps them entertained.

— Mason Cooley

God may be a human creation, but He goes His way, not ours.

— Mason Cooley

The egg is the symbol of perfection. Do you want an egg?

— Mason Cooley

I really like life, don't you? There's nothing else quite like it.

— Mason Cooley

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

— Mason Cooley

Self-deception is nature; hypocrisy is art.

— Mason Cooley

To make advice agreeable, try paradox or rhyme.

— Mason Cooley

Existence is not a mystery unless you think it has a meaning.

— Mason Cooley

Don't sacrifice yourself for me. I will not be grateful.

— Mason Cooley

Progress may feel more like loss than gain.

— Mason Cooley

I like the old wisdom--puns, riddles, spells, proverbs.

— Mason Cooley

With every physical pain, my moral fibre unravels a little.

— Mason Cooley

When a modest man praises himself, people listen.

— Mason Cooley

The lion cares less about being king of the beasts than about finding his dinner.

— Mason Cooley

I change my opinions often, but not my way of thinking.

— Mason Cooley

To understand a literary style, consider what it omits.

— Mason Cooley

People invent gods to explain their suffering.

— Mason Cooley

All the powers of imagination combine in hypochondria.

— Mason Cooley

Boredom turns to panic if my beloved leaves before the usual time.

— Mason Cooley

Intellectuals have opinions on subjects they just heard about five minutes ago.

— Mason Cooley

The lonely become either thoughtful or empty.

— Mason Cooley

Our vices are attempts to combine self-medication and enjoyment.

— Mason Cooley

Dignity takes alarm at the unexpected sound of laughter.

— Mason Cooley

Hope likes justification, but can do without.

— 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

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

— Mason Cooley