As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests.
More Quotes from Gore Vidal:
To a man, ornithologists are tall, slender, and bearded so that they can stand motionless for hours, imitating kindly trees, as they watch for birds.Gore Vidal
Some writers take to drink, others take to audiences.
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A good deed never goes unpunished.
Gore Vidal
Rome... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the Praetorian Guard ruled.
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Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.
Gore Vidal
Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.
Gore Vidal
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Based on Topics: Actions Quotes, Cities Quotes, Language QuotesBased on Keywords: decadent, illuminate, solemnly
Johnny Rotten. He's a big fan of mine. I used to see him out in the audience in England and he'd stand up and holler. He's funny. Smart too, and a nice guy. Don't think he's a jerk because he isn't.
Don Van Vliet
I wasn't really living anywhere... I was just kinda hanging out. I would live from week to week in places.
Bob Livingston
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.
Marion C. Garretty