Misanthropic Quotes of Note
The tongue is mightier than the blade, and no
self-respecting misanthrope would think of venturing forth among the masses quotationally challenged. When the time comes
to advance your point, there's nothing like a penetrating passage from one of the masters to stifle a sanctimonious opponent.
Below you will find an arsenal of such treasures, prefaced by a brief description of it's respective master. From Shoepenhaur to the beloved H.L. Mencken, these words are sure to inspire any misanthrope of enlightened stature.
Arthur Schopenhauer
(Febuary 22, 1788 - September 21, 1860)
One of the greatest philosophers of the 19th century, Schopenhauer's eloquent prose, asthetic sensibilities and synthesis of Eastern and Western thought set him apart from his Teutonic contemporaries. Indeed, Nietche felt impelled to call him,"un-German to the point of genius."
In the hallowed halls of misanthropy, his name has earned illumined status.
"Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude."
"Nature shows that with the growth of intelligence comes increased capacity for pain, and it is only with the highest degree of intelligence that suffering reaches its supreme point."
"The wise have always said the same things, and fools, who are the majority have always done just the opposite."
"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves to be like other people."
"The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."
"To live alone is the fate of all great souls."
"Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident."
"A man can be himself only so long as he is alone."
"Noise is the most impertinent of all forms of interruption. It is not only an interruption, but is also a disruption of thought."
"Shame on such a morality that fails to recognize the eternal essence that exists in every living thing, and shines forth with inscrutable significance from all eyes that see the sun."
Friedrich Nietzche
(October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900)Difficult to pigeon-hole, this celebrated thinker is perhaps the most frequently misunderstood philosopher in western tradition. Nietzsche's was a tortured mind; one that agonized over it's own assumptions and hammered away at the very pillars of it's foundations. Not for the faint of heart, his reader is forced to do the same and ultimately ask, "What does your conscience say?"
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."
"To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence."
"Alas, I can see that you do not know what it means to be alone. Wherever there have been powerful societies, governments, religions, or public opinions - in short, wherever there was any kind of tyranny, it has hated the lonely philosopher; for philosophy opens up a refuge for man where no tyranny can reach: the cave of inwardness, the labyrinth of the breast; and that annoys all tyrants."
"Error has transformed animals into men; is truth perhaps capable of changing man back into an animal?"
H.L. Mencken
(September 12, 1880 - January 29, 1956)America's premiere misanthrope, the "Sage of Baltimore" is regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century. A Libertarian before the word came into usage, Henry Louis Mencken's beliefs fueled his denfense of free speech and fight against prohibition.
"It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man."
"The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal. "
"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable."
"And what is a good citizen? Simply one who never says, does or thinks anything that is unusual. Schools are maintained in order to bring this uniformity up to the highest possible point. A school is a hopper into which children are heaved while they are still young and tender; therein they are pressed into certain standard shapes and covered from head to heels with official rubber-stamps."
"If we assume that man actually does resemble God, then we are forced into the impossible theory that God is a coward, an idiot and a bounder."
"The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it's good-bye to the Bill of Rights."
"No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.""We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine."
"Time stays, we go."