"There is a principle, supposed to prevail among many, which is utterly incompatible with all virtue or moral sentiment; and as it can proceed from nothing but the most depraved disposition, so in its turn it tends still further to encourage that depravity. This principle is, that all benevolence is mere hypocrisy, friendship a cheat, public spirit a farce, fidelity a snare to procure trust and confidence; and that while all of us, at bottom, pursue only our private interest, we wear these fair disguises, in order to put others off their guard, and expose them the more to our wiles and machinations."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), Appendix 2
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cynicism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Cynicism
39 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Cynicism →
Related Quotes
"The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigila…"
"Cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be."
"There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing."
"If you scratch a cynic, you will find a disappointed idealist."
"Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than …"
"Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cy…"
"Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, …"
"Cynicism is full of naive disappointments."
"Cynicism formulates issues clearly, but only to dismiss them."
"Cynic: An idealist whose rose-colored glasses have been removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground, immediat…"