
Source: The Ideology of Fascism: The Rationale of Totalitarianism, (1969), p. 99
Dumbing Down, Down, Down... p. 247.
The Light's On At Signpost (2002)
Source: The Ideology of Fascism: The Rationale of Totalitarianism, (1969), p. 99
“A drawing is always dragged down to the level of its caption.”
The New Yorker (2 August 1930)
From other writings
Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift (1731), l. 459
Context: Yet malice never was his aim;
He lashed the vice but spared the name.
No individual could resent,
Where thousands equally were meant.
His satire points at no defect
But what all mortals may correct;
For he abhorred that senseless tribe
Who call it humor when they gibe.
“Anthony looked down at his evil clutches -- hands, he reminded himself, hands -- and grinned anew.”
Source: The Viscount Who Loved Me
“Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper.”
Source: The Naked Civil Servant (1968), Ch. 1
Context: Keeping up with the Joneses was a full-time job with my mother and father. It was not until many years later when I lived alone that I realized how much cheaper it was to drag the Joneses down to my level.
Boris Johnson wins The Spectator’s President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition, 18 May 2016. http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/boris-johnson-wins-the-spectators-president-erdogan-offensive-poetry-competition/
About
Boris Johnson wins The Spectator’s President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition, 18 May 2016. http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/boris-johnson-wins-the-spectators-president-erdogan-offensive-poetry-competition/
2010s, 2016
Source: A Tale of Time City (1987), pp. 78-79.
"An Introduction", The Fireside Book of Dog Stories (Simon and Schuster, 1943); reprinted in Thurber's Dogs (1955)
From other writings
Variant: Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.