“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.”

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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H.L. Mencken281

American journalist and writer 1880–1956

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“Fools will be fools,
And wise will be wise.
But I will look this world
Straight in the eyes.What good is a man
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What good is a cynic
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Variant: Even the devil may cry when he looks around hell and realizes that he’s there alone.
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“Pasteboard pies and paper flowers are being banished from the stage by the growth of that power of accurate observation which is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it…”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

1890s
Source: The World (18 July 1894), Music in London 1890-1894 being criticisms contributed week by week to The World (New York: Vienna House, 1973)

“A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.”

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H.L. Mencken281

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