--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never be a cynic, even a gentle one…" description: "\"Never be a cynic, even a gentle one. Never help out a sneer, even at the devil.\" — Vachel Lindsay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/vachel-lindsay-22377_cynic_never-be-a-cynic-even-a-gentle-one-never_1549362.jpg" --- # Never be a cynic, even a gentle one. Never help out a… ![“Never be a cynic, even a gentle one. Never help out a sneer, even at the devil.” quote by Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/vachel-lindsay-22377_cynic_never-be-a-cynic-even-a-gentle-one-never_1549362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/vachel-lindsay-22377_cynic_never-be-a-cynic-even-a-gentle-one-never_1549362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/vachel-lindsay-22377_cynic_never-be-a-cynic-even-a-gentle-one-never_1549362.jpg) > “Never be a cynic, even a gentle one. Never help out a sneer, even at the devil.” [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourage kindness even when faced with negativity, avoiding cynicism and retaliation. **In simple terms:** Be kind despite cynics. Key Takeaway Choose compassion over sarcasm. Themes kindness resilience empathy Mood reflective hopeful Type moral inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - online interactions - conflict resolution Key Concepts moral philosophy social behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can you stay kind when provoked? - What limits does cynicism impose? A Different Perspective Compassion may be exploited by the unkind. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynic/) [Cynicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynicism/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) ## Related quotes > [The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-poorest-way-to-face-life-is-to-face-it-with-a-sneer/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [ Essentially, the \[New York\] Philharmonic is just like any other orchestra-they all have the spirit of kids, and if you scratch away a little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/essentially-the-new-york-philharmonic-is-just-like-any-other/) [Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/) > [The cynic sees only cynicism, the depressive can taint creation with one glance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/the-cynic-sees-only-cynicism-the-depressive-can-taint-creation-with/) [Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/) > [A cynic should never marry an idealist. For the cynic, marriage represents the welcome end of romantic life, with all its agony and ecstasy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/a-cynic-should-never-marry-an-idealist-for-the-cynic-marriage/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [“The imagination is a cynic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/the-imagination-is-a-cynic/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [ \[Christianity\] neither enjoins the nastiness of the Cynic, nor the insensibility of the Stoic. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/christianity-neither-enjoins-the-nastiness-of-the-cynic-nor-the/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [Cynicism was a school in Greece - the Cynics. Diogenes is a famous Cynic. There was a strong belief in nihilism and narcissism. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/cynicism-was-a-school-in-greece-the-cynics-diogenes-is-a-famous-cynic/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, his is also one who is permanently disappointed in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/a-cynic-is-not-merely-one-who-reads-bitter-lessons-from-the-past-his/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The only way to do my job without optimism would be as a cynic, and that's not my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/the-only-way-to-do-my-job-without-optimism-would-be-as-a-cynic-and/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [The cynic makes fun of all earnestness; he makes fun of everything and everyone who feels that something can be done. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edgar-vincent/the-cynic-makes-fun-of-all-earnestness-he-makes-fun-of-everything-and/) George Edgar Vincent > [The idea of The Boy Vs. The Cynic is the tension between the wide-eyed optimism in youthfulness where you think nothing can go wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-reuben-zappin/the-idea-of-the-boy-vs-the-cynic-is-the-tension-between-the-wide-eyed/) [John Reuben Zappin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-reuben-zappin/) > [I get the cynicism thing all the time, although I don't really know where that comes from, because I think I'm actually the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-get-the-cynicism-thing-all-the-time-although-i-don-t-really-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) Mark Clifton > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More by Vachel Lindsay > [“Not that they starve; but starve so dreamlessly, Not that they sow, but that they seldom reap, Not that they serve, but have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/not-that-they-starve-but-starve-so-dreamlessly-not-that-they-sow-but/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [The crooning turns to a sunrise singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/the-crooning-turns-to-a-sunrise-singing/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [I think on death as the apparent end of the illusions that encompass us. They all have a sudden and unexpected end, that challenges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/i-think-on-death-as-the-apparent-end-of-the-illusions-that-encompass/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [This is the sin against the Holy Ghost: - To speak of bloody power as right divine, And call on God to guard each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/this-is-the-sin-against-the-holy-ghost-to-speak-of-bloody-power-as/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [They tried to get me-I got them first! (suicide note)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/they-tried-to-get-me-i-got-them-first-suicide-note/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [To live in mankind is far more than to live in a name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/to-live-in-mankind-is-far-more-than-to-live-in-a-name/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Authors and uncaptured criminals are the only people free from routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/authors-and-uncaptured-criminals-are-the-only-people-free-from-routine/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [How can we help students to understand that the tragedy of life is not death; the tragedy is to die with commitments undefined and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/how-can-we-help-students-to-understand-that-the-tragedy-of-life-is/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you, Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you. Mumbo . . . Jumbo . . . will . . . hoo-doo . . . you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/mumbo-jumbo-will-hoo-doo-you-mumbo-jumbo-will-hoo-doo-you-mumbo-jumbo/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Life is a loom, weaving illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/life-is-a-loom-weaving-illusion/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [I am unjust, but I can strive for justice. My life's unkind, but I can vote for kindness. I, the unloving, say life should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/i-am-unjust-but-i-can-strive-for-justice-my-life-s-unkind-but-i-can/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Oh, I have walked in Kansas Through many a harvest field, And piled the sheaves of glory there And down the wild rows reeled:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/oh-i-have-walked-in-kansas-through-many-a-harvest-field-and-piled-the/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [ They tried to get me - I got them first! \[Suicide.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/they-tried-to-get-me-i-got-them-first-suicide/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Let not young souls be smothered out Before they do quaint deeds And fully flaunt their pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/let-not-young-souls-be-smothered-out-before-they-do-quaint-deeds-and/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) > [Factory windows are always brokenOther windows are let alone.No one throws through the chapel-windowThe bitter, snarling, derisive stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vachel-lindsay/factory-windows-are-always-brokenother-windows-are-let-alone-no-one/) [Vachel Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) [Explore all 27 Vachel Lindsay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vachel-lindsay/) ## More Cynic quotes > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [Why should we strive, with cynic frown, to knock their fairy castles down?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-cook/why-should-we-strive-with-cynic-frown-to-knock-their-fairy-castles/) [Eliza Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-cook/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) Mark Clifton > [I get the cynicism thing all the time, although I don't really know where that comes from, because I think I'm actually the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/i-get-the-cynicism-thing-all-the-time-although-i-don-t-really-know/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“Skeptics are always marked by their total lack of skepticism towards whatever position they are defending.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-madison/skeptics-are-always-marked-by-their-total-lack-of-skepticism-towards/) Steve Madison > [“Listen, O lord of the meeting rivers, things standing shall fall, but the moving ever shall stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basava/listen-o-lord-of-the-meeting-rivers-things-standing-shall-fall-but/) Basava > [An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/an-executive-should-be-a-realist-and-no-one-is-less-realistic-than/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Remember that all is opinion. For what was said by the Cynic Monimus is manifest: and manifest too is the use of what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/remember-that-all-is-opinion-for-what-was-said-by-the-cynic-monimus/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The idea of The Boy Vs. The Cynic is the tension between the wide-eyed optimism in youthfulness where you think nothing can go wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-reuben-zappin/the-idea-of-the-boy-vs-the-cynic-is-the-tension-between-the-wide-eyed/) [John Reuben Zappin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-reuben-zappin/) > [The cynic makes fun of all earnestness; he makes fun of everything and everyone who feels that something can be done. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edgar-vincent/the-cynic-makes-fun-of-all-earnestness-he-makes-fun-of-everything-and/) George Edgar Vincent > [To me it seems to be important to believe people to be good even if they tend to be bad, because your own joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-me-it-seems-to-be-important-to-believe-people-to-be-good-even-if/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [ \[in the\]..curious way that my idealism has been mixed with my fatalism, so that I can possess the soul of a dreamer and that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-the-curious-way-that-my-idealism-has-been-mixed-with-my-fatalism/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The only way to do my job without optimism would be as a cynic, and that's not my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/the-only-way-to-do-my-job-without-optimism-would-be-as-a-cynic-and/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) [Browse all 217 Cynic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never be a cynic, even a gentle one. 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