Inspirational Quotes by Mason Cooley (American Aphorist)

Mason Cooley (1927–2002) was an American aphorist and professor of French literature. Known for his concise and thought-provoking writings, Cooley left an indelible mark on the literary world with his unique style of philosophical insights and observations.

Born in Rochester, New York, Cooley earned a B.A. from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley, specializing in French literature. He taught English, speech, and world literature for over three decades at the College of Staten Island; he also served as an assistant professor of English at Columbia University 1959–67 and as an adjunct professor 1980–88.

Outside of his academic pursuits, Cooley gained recognition for his aphorisms, compiled and published in various collections, including City Aphorisms (1985,) The Virtues of Poetry (1988,) Omens (1992,) The Alibi of Tyrants, Essays on Poetry (1995,) and Montaigne in Motion (1996.)

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Logic and fact keep interfering with the easy flow of conversation.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Logic

Travelers never think that they are the foreigners.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Perspective

There are different rules for reading, for thinking, and for talking. Writing blends all three of them.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Thinking

Listening to people keeps them entertained.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Listening

I keep eating for fear I will be hungry.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Eating

If suffering brought wisdom, the dentist’s office would be full of luminous ideas.
—Mason Cooley

Magic lives in curves, not angles.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Magic

Jealousy is inconsolable because it cannot know the beloved.
—Mason Cooley

Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge.
—Mason Cooley

The routines of tourism are even more monotonous than those of daily life.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Travel, Tourism

Reality is the name we give to our disappointments.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Reality

Few friendships could survive the moodiness of love affairs.
—Mason Cooley

Opportunity knocks, but doesn’t always answer to its name.
—Mason Cooley

Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Compassion

Thinking about the universe has now been handed over to specialists. The rest of us merely read about it.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Thinking

Indifference creates an artificial peace.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Apathy

Fastidious taste makes enjoyment a struggle.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: One liners, Enjoyment

I am skeptical in principle, gullible in practice.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Cynicism

Lust and greed are more gullible than innocence.
—Mason Cooley

Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: The Past

Astrology: do we make a hullabaloo among the stars, or do they make a hullabaloo down here?
—Mason Cooley

At the end of every diet, he path curves back to the trough.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Diet

Faith moves mountains, but you have to keep pushing while you are praying.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Faith

Unemployment diminishes people. Leisure enlarges them.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Unemployment

Love begins with an image; lust with a sensation.
—Mason Cooley

Arrogance frowns; pride smiles.
—Mason Cooley

Indifference is an excellent substitute for patience.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Apathy

Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Procrastination

For many, immaturity is an ideal, not a defect.
—Mason Cooley

The educated do not share a common body of information, but a common state of mind
—Mason Cooley
Topics: Sharing

Inspirational Quotes by Mason Cooley (American Aphorist)

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