“Kindness and intelligence are the preoccupations of age. Being cruel and thoughtless is far more fascinating when you’re twenty.”

—  Ray Bradbury, book Dandelion Wine

Source: Dandelion Wine (1957), p. 147

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Kindness and intelligence are the preoccupations of age. Being cruel and thoughtless is far more fascinating when you’r…" by Ray Bradbury?
Ray Bradbury photo
Ray Bradbury401
American writer 1920–2012

Related quotes

Maurice Duplessis photo

“Less than fifteen cents to the province and more than twenty-five cents to Ottawa, this is far from being excessive!”

Maurice Duplessis (1890–1959) former Premier of Quebec

Bill 43, Québec Legislative Assembly, January 14, 1954

Jack London photo

“Intelligent men are cruel. Stupid men are monstrously cruel.”

Jack London book The Star Rover

The Star Rover
Variant: Intelligent men are cruel. Stupid men are monstrously cruel

“You can find out far more about a writer from his poems or fiction.. because in his stories or poems, his preoccupations, obsessions, moral standards, the quality of his intelligence, his loves, hates, aspirations, belief and fears.. insist on expression.”

Vernon Scannell (1922–2007) British boxer and poet

Tiger and the Rose, 1971

Sylvia Plath photo

“Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. There are times when I will be cold and thoughtless and hard to understand.”

Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer

Johannes Kepler photo

“I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.”

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer

As quoted in (K)new Words: Redefine Your Communication (2005) by Gloria Pierre, p. 147

James Patterson photo

“What kind of thoughtless creep would burn a book?”

James Patterson (1947) American author

Jack McDevitt photo

“Organized mayhem,” Nick commented, “seems to be the chief preoccupation of intelligent species everywhere.”

Jack McDevitt (1935) American novelist, Short story writer

Source: Academy Series - Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins, Chindi (2002), Chapter 31 (p. 432)

Cassandra Clare photo

“Jace knew he was being cruel, and he barely cared. Hurting people he loved was almost as good as hurting himself when he was in this kind of mood.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

Ursula K. Le Guin photo

“And fourteen—fourteen is such a fearful age, when you find out so fast what you’re capable of being, but also what a toll the world expects.”

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) American writer

Imaginary Countries (p. 204; first published in The Harvard Advocate (Winter 1973)
Short fiction, Orsinian Tales (1976)

Related topics