Gratification

"People are not only, as the saying goes, falling for the swindle; if it guarantees them even the most fleeting gratification they desire a deception which is nonetheless transparent to them. They force their eyes shut and voice approval, in a kind of self-loathing, for what is meted out to them, knowing fully the purpose for which it is manufactured."

"The one thing that would utterly destroy the new capitalism is the serious practice of deferred gratification."

"Workers, the most absolutely necessary part of the whole social structure, without whose services none can either eat, or clothe, or shelter himself, are just the ones who get the least to eat, to wear, and to be housed withal — to say nothing of their share of the other social benefits which the rest of us are supposed to furnish, such as education and artistic gratification."

"All history attests that man has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, to be instrumental in promoting his comfort; but never has he desired to elevate her to that rank she was created to fill."

"The Satanist believes in complete gratification of his ego. Satanism, in fact, is the only religion which advocates the intensification or encouragement of the ego. Only if a person's own ego is sufficiently fulfilled, can he afford to be kind and complimentary to others, without robbing himself of his self-respect. We generally think of a braggart as a person with a large ego; in reality, his bragging results from a need to satisfy his impoverished ego."

"The job of mass entertainment is exactly the opposite of the job of art — the job of mass entertainment is to cajole, seduce and flatter consumers to let them know that what they thought was right is right, and that their tastes and their immediate gratification are of the utmost concern of the purveyor."

"It is true that Heaven forbids certain gratifications, but there are means' of compounding with it upon such matters, and of rectifying the evil of the act by the purity of the intention, We shall be able to initiate you into all those secrets..."

"The sexual anxiety is caused by an external frustration of instinctual gratification, and is anchored internally by the fear of the dammed up sexual excitation. This is the mechanism of orgasm anxiety. It is the fear of the organism – which has become unwilling to experience pleasure – of the overpowering excitation of the genital system. Orgasm anxiety forms the basis of the general pleasure anxiety which is an integral part of the human structure."

"The suppression of natural sexual gratification leads to various kinds of substitute gratifications. Natural aggression, for example, becomes brutal sadism which then is an essential mass-psychological factor in imperialistic wars."

"It must be remembered that painting is not the mere gratification of sight. As the natural dignity of the subject (of a portrait) is less, the more the ornamental helps are necessary to its embellishments."

"The sensualist will find sensuality in Titian; the thinker will find thought; the saint, sanctity; the colourist, colour; the anatomist, form; and yet the picture will never be a popular one in the full sense, for none of these narrower people will find their special taste so alone consulted, as that the qualities which would ensure their gratification shall be sifted or separated from others; they are checked by the presence of the other qualities which ensure the gratification of other men."

"He who seeks Truth Shall find Beauty He who seeks Beauty Shall find Vanity He who seeks Order Shall find Gratification He who seeks Gratification Shall be Disappointed."

"What is the motive which operates in every man's breast to counteract the impulse towards the gratification of his wants and appetites?"

"He read because it gave him instant gratification in a way nothing else did, and, as was the case with all addicts, gratification was the important thing. He liked history, travel, anthropology, cookbooks (which he read in the same way as other books for pleasure); he liked books with specialized information."

"The superior gratification derived from the use and contemplation of costly and supposedly beautiful products is, commonly, in great measure a gratification of our sense of costliness masquerading under the name of beauty."

"Though they suffer no restriction of choice, in reality even multi-millionaires soon reach the outer limits of purely personal gratification—which should be some satisfaction to the rest of us."

"Mass consumption, advertising, and mass art are a corporate Frankenstein; while they reinforce the system, they also undermine it. By continually pushing the message that we have the right to gratification now, consumerism at its most expansive encouraged a demand for fulfillment."