quotations about cynicism
The cynic, a parasite of civilisation, lives by denying it, for the very reason that he is convinced that it will not fail. What would become of the cynic among a savage people where everyone, naturally and quite seriously, fulfils what the cynic farcically considers to be his personal role?
JOSE ORTEGA Y GASSET
The Revolt of the Masses
When ... the central places of your heart are covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then are you grown old, indeed!
SAMUEL ULLMAN
From the Summit of Years
Cynicism is only intellectual sloth.
HENRY ROLLINS
"Riff on life's journey blends humor, hope", Columbus Dispatch, April 2, 2010
Cynicism, like gullibility, is a symptom of underdeveloped critical faculties.
JAMIE WHYTE
Crimes Against Logic
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
JOYCE CAROL OATES
Do What You Will
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
TERRY PRATCHETT
Guards! Guards!
The greater part of the truth is always hidden, in regions out of the reach of cynicism.
J. R. R. TOLKIEN
letter to Michael Tolkien, Nov. 1, 1963
The fire inside my soul is nearly flickered out
So I order another one
Sliding into the sea
With cynicism and rum
CALEXICO
"The Town & Miss Lorraine"
A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.
SYDNEY J. HARRIS
On the Contrary
A cheap and easy cynicism rails at everything. The master of the art accomplishes the formidable task of discrimination.
AMBROSE BIERCE
"Epigrams of a Cynic"
Cynicism--the intellectual cripple's substitute for intelligence.
RUSSELL LYNES
attributed, The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Toasts & Quotes
Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are not as they ought to be.
AMBROSE BIERCE
The Devil's Dictionary
A cynic sees little to admire in the world, while the world sees even less to admire in him.
EVAN ESAR
20,000 Quips & Quotes
Cynicism is intellectual treason.
NORMAN COUSINS
Human Options