“To be happy one must be (a) well fed, unhounded by sordid cares, at ease in Zion, (b) full of a comfortable feeling of superiority to the masses of one's fellow men, and (c) delicately and unceasingly amused according to one's taste. It is my contention that, if this definition be accepted, there is no country in the world wherein a man constituted as I am - a man of my peculiar weakness, vanities, appetites, and aversions - can be so happy as he can be in the United States.” IfsMenWorldWellsCountryStatesFeelingsCareUnitedUnited StatesTasteComfortableMassWeaknessFellowsDefinitionsAcceptedVanityEaseFedsAppetitePeculiarSuperiorityFellow ManAmusedAversionContentionZion Author:H. L. Mencken
“Weak men often from the very principle of their weakness derive a certain susceptibility; delicacy and taste which render them, in those particulars, much superior to men of stronger and more consistent minds, who laugh at them.” MenMindCertainPrinciplesLaughingTasteWeaknessWeakStrongerSuperiorsConsistentDelicacyWeak ManSusceptibility Author:Sir Fulke Greville
“We have entered a period of intolerance which combines, as it sometimes does in America, with a sugary taste for euphemism. This conjunction fosters events that go beyond the wildest dream of satire- if satire existed in America anymore; perhaps the reason for its weakness is that reality has superseded it.” IfsDoeSometimesReasonDreamRealityAmericaEventsInternetPeriodsTasteWeaknessSatireIntoleranceFree SpeechEuphemismConjunctionsWildest Dreams Author:Robert Hughes
“Science has yet to isolate the Godiva Chocolate or Prada gene, but that doesn't mean your weakness for pricey swag isn't woven into your DNA. According to a new study of identical twins, it's less TV ads or Labor Day sales that make you buy the things you do than the tastes and temperaments that are already part of you at birth.” MeanStudyTvsBirthTasteWeaknessLaborChocolateAdsGenesTwinsDnaTemperamentIdenticalWovenSwagLabor DayPradaIdentical Twin Author:Jeffrey Kluger
“Goodness is weakness, pleasantness is poisonous, serenity is mediocrity and kindness is for losers. The best reason for committing loathsome and detestable acts – and let’s face it, I am considered something of an expert in this field – is purely for their own sake. Monetary gain is all very well, but it dilutes the taste of wickedness to a lower level that is obtainable by almost anyone with an overdeveloped sense of avarice. True and baseless evil is as rare as the purest good.” WellsReasonFacesEvilLevelsKindnessFieldsTasteGoodnessWeaknessGainsSakeExpertsLoserMediocritySerenityWickednessAvariceMonetaryPoisonous Author:Jasper Fforde