Quotes from Mason Cooley

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

Courage overrides self-doubt, but does not end it.

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

When death comes too near, comedy and tragedy fall silent.

Striving toward a goal puts a more pleasing construction on our advance toward death.

The tragic hero prefers death to prudence. The comedian prefers playing tricks to winning. Only the villain really plays to win.

Children now expect their parents to audition for approval.

While we are reading, we are all Don Quixote.

The educated do not share a common body of information, but a common state of mind.

We are more tied to our faults than to our virtues.

The sage belongs to the same obsolete repertory as the virtuous maiden and the enlightened monarch.

Bad faith likes discourse on friendship and loyalty.

Altruism is for those who cannot endure their desires.

Make the expectations lively enough, and action will follow.

Dreams surround our desires with ugliness and dread.

I dream of vague shapes that hint of my heart's desire.

The cues that arouse desire are changed by Fashion, but feel like the proddings of Nature.

When I try to portray to myself my heart's desire, nothing happens.

I am kept in bondage by the moles of my beloved.

Sorrow also fulfills Desire. Example: the Soaps.

In the street, the gaze of desire is furtive or menacing.

When sages commend excess, Desire is sick.

The desire to create literature leads to frights, grunts, and coy looks.

The older we become, the more certain our future.