Cynicism

This cynic did nothing but saboter the civilisation of the time. He was the nihilist of Hellenism. He created nothing, he made nothing. ~ José Ortega y Gasset

Cynicism is a term which originally referred to the ancient Greek philosophy of the Cynics, often considered to have been founded by Antisthenes. Currently, the word "cynicism" generally refers to the opinions of those who are inclined to reject appearances of sincerity, human virtue, or altruism, and maintain that self-interest is the primary motive of human behaviour. The most extreme forms of cynicism can lead to anomie and nihilism.

Quotes

Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. ~ Charlie Chaplin

Irony differentiates. Cynicism never does. ~ Paul Horgan

The greater part of the truth is always hidden, in regions out of the reach of cynicism. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien

Alphabetized by author

• There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.
  • Maya Angelou, as quoted in The Truth in Words (2005) by Neal Zero

• Cynic: An idealist whose rose-colored glasses have been removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground, immediately improving his vision.
  • Rick Bayan (b. 1950), U.S. author, copyrighter and cynic. The Cynic’s Dictionary (1994)

• 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. The cynic puts all human actions into two classes — openly bad and secretly bad.
  • Henry Ward Beecher, in Lectures to Young Men: On Various Important Subjects (1860) Lecture IV : Portrait Gallery

• Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
  • Ambrose Bierce, in The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

• Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
  • Charlie Chaplin, in The Great Dictator (1940)

• 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 rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us.
  • Stephen Colbert, Knox College Commencement Address (3 June 2006)

• Cynicism is full of naive disappointments.
  • Mason Cooley (1927-2002), American aphorist. City Aphorisms (1984)

• Cynicism formulates issues clearly, but only to dismiss them.
  • Mason Cooley, City Aphorisms, Sixth Selection (1989)

• Cynicism is intellectual treason.
  • Norman Cousins, Human Options (1981)

• Cynics are disappointed romantics; they keep looking for someone to admire and can never find anyone.
  • Len Deighton, Stated by the character, Byrd, in An Expensive Place to Die (1967), Ch. 34

• I was too green to know that all cynicism masks a failure to cope – an impotence, in short; and that to despise all effort is the greatest effort of all.
  • John Fowles, The Magus (1966)

• Cynicism is cheap – you can buy it at any Monoprix store – it’s built into all poor-quality goods.
  • Graham Greene (1904–1991), British novelist. The Comedians (1966), pt. 1, ch. 1, sct. 3

• 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 (b. 1917), American journalist. On the Contrary (1962) Ch. 7

• Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth.
  • Lillian Hellman in The Little Foxes (1939)

• Irony differentiates. Cynicism never does.
  • Paul Horgan, in Approaches to Writing (1973), No. 398

• A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist.
  • Sir Humphrey Appleby, played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne in Yes, Minister, Series Three (1982), Episode Four: The Moral Dimension, written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn

• Cynicism isn't smarter, it's only safer. There's nothing fluffy about optimism.
  • Jewel Kitcher on The Late Late Show (24 January 1997)

• I once said cynically of a politician, "He'll double-cross that bridge when he comes to it."
  • Oscar Levant, in The Memoirs of an Amnesiac (1965), p. 13

• Cynicism is intellectual dandyism.
  • George Meredith, in The Egoist (1879), Ch. 7

• The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
  • Joyce Carol Oates, American author and academic, Do What You Will, pt 2, ch 15

• All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism — it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.
  • Conan O'Brien, Final words, January 22, 2010 TV Guide news

• Diogenes, in his mud-covered sandals, tramps over the carpets of Aristippus. The cynic pullulated at every corner, and in the highest places. This cynic did nothing but saboter the civilisation of the time. He was the nihilist of Hellenism. He created nothing, he made nothing. His role was to undo — or rather to attempt to undo, for he did not succeed in his purpose. 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?
  • José Ortega y Gasset, in The Revolt of the Masses (1929), Ch. XI: The Self-Satisfied Age

• Of what is great one must either be silent or speak with greatness. With greatness — that means cynically and with innocence.
  • Friedrich Nietzsche, in The Will to Power, Preface (1888)

• A cynic is a person searching for an honest man, with a stolen lantern.
  • Edgar A. Shoaff, as quoted in Bathroom Almanac (1981) by Gus McLeavy, p. 8

• The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
  • George Bernard Shaw, The World (18 July 1894), Music in London 1890-1894 being criticisms contributed week by week to The World (New York: Vienna House, 1973).

• Cynicism is only intellectual sloth.
  • Henry Rollins, Riff on life's journey blends humor, hope, Columbus Dispatch

• The greater part of the truth is always hidden, in regions out of the reach of cynicism.
  • J. R. R. Tolkien, Letter to his son, Michael Tolkien, 1st November 1963, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Edited by Humphrey Carpenter, Allan and Unwin (1981), p. 336

• What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
  • Oscar Wilde, in Lady Windermere's Fan (1892); often paraphrased : "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."

External links

• The Cynic’s Sanctuary