Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Gore Vidal

Quote by Gore Vidal

“My father had a deep and lifelong contempt for politicians in general ("They tell lies," he used to say with wonder, "even when they don't have to").”

Quote by Gore Vidal

Create image

Author

Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal

American writer, playwright, screenwriter, and critic. Known for his sharp political satire and profound historical insight, Vidal's work spans a variety of genres including novels, plays, screenplays, and criticism. more

You May Also Like

“At least when the Emperor Justinian, a sky-god man, decided to outlaw sodomy, he had to come up with a good practical reason, which he did. It is well known, Justinian declared, that buggery is a principal cause of earthquakes, and so must be prohibited. But our sky-godders, always eager to hate, still quote Leviticus, as if that looney text had anything useful to say about anything except, perhaps, the inadvisability of eating shellfish in the Jerusalem area.”

IfsMenWellsStillsReasonHateCausesKnownSkyEatingAreasDecidedCome UpPracticalsPrincipalWell KnownEmperorEarthquakesJerusalemOutlawMonotheismLeviticusShellfishJustinian
Author:Gore Vidal
Create image

“Many writers claim that nearly all crime is caused by economic conditions, or in other words that poverty is practically the whole cause of crime. Endless statistics have been gathered on this subject which seem to show conclusively that property crimes are largely the result of the unequal distribution of wealth. But crime of any class cannot be safely ascribed to a single cause. Life is too complex, heredity is too variant and imperfect, too many separate things contribute to human behavior, to make it possible to trace all actions to a single cause.”

HumansHas BeensWholeShowsSeemsActionLife IsCausesWealthResultsClassPovertyEconomicConditionsSubjectsCrimeBehaviorClaimsPropertyComplexesEndlessStatisticsImperfectHuman BehaviorDistributionHeredityDistribution Of Wealth
Author:Clarence Darrow
Create image

“It is indeed strange that with all the knowledge we have gained in the past hundred years we preserve and practice the methods of an ancient and barbarous world in our dealing with crime. So long as this is observed and exercised there can be no change except to heap more cruelties and more wretchedness upon those who are the victims of our foolish system.”

WorldYearsLongPastPracticeCrimeStrangeHundredMethodVictimAncientFoolishCrueltyPreservesWretchedness
Book:The Story of My Life
Create image