Face 1997 - Christopher Hitchens - Oscar Wilde - H L Mencken - Ralph Waldo Emerson - George Meredith - Molly Ivins - Vincent van Gogh - Henry Ward Beecher - Graham Greene - Leon Trotsky - George Bernard Shaw - Julian Baggini - Ken Burns - Kenneth Clark - George Carlin - Alain de Botton - Tony Benn - Yes Minister TV - Robert Fisk TV - Adam Curtis TV -
The modern disease of this society – cynicalism. Face 1997 starring Ray Winstone & Robert Carlisle & Steven Waddington & Philip Davis & Damon Albarn & Lena Headey & Andrew Tiernan & Peter Vaughan & Sue Johnston et al, director Antonia Bird, Dave
The press is still investing itself, it seems to me, in a sort of cynicism. It comes out better for them if they can predict hard times, bogging down, sniping, attrition. Christopher Hitchens
A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H L Mencken, 1880-1956
The cynics are right nine times out of ten. H L Mencken
The worst government is often the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression. H L Mencken
A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don’t be a cynic and disconsolate preacher. Don’t bewail and moan. Omit the negative propositions. Challenge us with incessant affirmatives. Don’t waste yourself in rejection, or bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Cynicism is intellectual dandyism without the coxcomb’s feathers. George Meredith, The Egoist, 1879
It’s hard to argue against cynics – they always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side. Molly Ivins
In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and scepticism and humbug and we shall want to live more musically. Vincent van Gogh
The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1877, American politician
Cynicism is cheap – you can buy it at any Monoprix store – it’s built into all poor quality goods. Graham Greene, 1904-1991
Life is not an easy matter ... You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness. Leon Trotsky
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. George Bernard Shaw
Perhaps the biggest myth about cynicism is that it deepens with age. I think what really happens is that experience painfully rips away layers of scales from our eyes, and so we do indeed become more cynical about many of the things we naively accepted when younger. Julian Baggini
I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we’re lead to is a life not fully lived. Cynicism is fear, and it’s worse than fear – it’s active disengagement. Ken Burns
We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs. Kenneth Clark
Scratch any cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist. George Carlin
Cynics are – beneath it all – only idealists with awkwardly high standards. Alain de Botton
They keep us divided ... They keep us demoralised ... and they encourage cynicism. Tony Benn
A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist. Yes, Minister s3e4: The Moral Dimension, Sir Humphrey to Jim, BBC 1982
In a land under occupation there are few bounds to the cynicism of those who resist. Robert Fisk, From Beirut to Bosnia II: The Road to Palestine, Discovery 1993
Money has created a society where nobody believes in anything, and nothing can be trusted. Adam Curtis, Can’t Get You Out of My Head VI Are We a Pigeon? Or Are We Dancer? ***** BBC 2021