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…

Quote by Gore Vidal

Topics: Gore Vidal Quotes

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a...

Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a...

Sex is. There is nothing more to be done about it. Sex builds no roads,...

Sex is. There is nothing more to be done about it. Sex builds no roads,...

Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.

Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.

What is in question is a kind of book reviewing which seems to be more...

What is in question is a kind of book reviewing which seems to be more...

There's a lot to be said for being nouveau riche, and the Reagans mean to...

There's a lot to be said for being nouveau riche, and the Reagans mean to...

That loyal retainer of the Chase Manhattan Bank, the American president.

That loyal retainer of the Chase Manhattan Bank, the American president.

All in all, I would not have missed this century for the world.

All in all, I would not have missed this century for the world.

I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.

I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.

It makes no difference who you vote for - the two parties are really one...

It makes no difference who you vote for - the two parties are really one...

By 1948, the Italians had begun to pull themselves together, demonstrating once more their astonishing...

By 1948, the Italians had begun to pull themselves together, demonstrating once more their astonishing...

There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only...

There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only...

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified...

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified...

We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of...

We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of...

On 16 September 1985, when the Commerce Department announced that the United States had become...

On 16 September 1985, when the Commerce Department announced that the United States had become...

Until the rise of American advertising, it never occurred to anyone anywhere in the world...

Until the rise of American advertising, it never occurred to anyone anywhere in the world...

We're not a democracy.

We're not a democracy.

Teaching has ruined more American novelists than drink.

Teaching has ruined more American novelists than drink.

A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to...

A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to...

It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown

It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.