"In person, as on the page, Hitchens is in masterly possession of what he calls saeva indignatio, that "combination of cheek and anger to point out how the world falls short of its pretensions". He is a skilled orator, working, as far as I could see, without a text or notes. He chooses his weapons carefully, and is efficient either as a sniper or as a bombardier unloading the full arsenal of his invective. But he is also a barnum, of the type so congenial to that quintessentially American tradition of cracker-barrel salesmanship. When an elderly woman rises to challenge Hitchens, he quips: "Mother, I told you not to do this." Thus her question is deflected, amid the general laughter of an audience who are now behaving as so many valets to this lofty wit."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from EnglandAcademics from the United StatesPhilosophers from the United StatesPhilosophers from EnglandImmigrants to the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Frances Stonor Saunders,
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was an-English-American journalist and writer. He contributed to the New Statesman, The Nation, The Atlantic, London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, Slate, and Vanity Fair. Hitchens was the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of over 30 books, incl
302 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Christopher Hitchens →
Related Quotes
"If I was told to sacrifice something to prove my devotion to God, if I was told to do what all monotheists are told t…"
"On our integrity, our basic integrity, knowing right from wrong and being able to choose a right action over a wrong …"
"If Hitchens didn't exist, we wouldn't be able to invent him."
"The idea that God speaks to some illiterate merchant warlord in Arabia, and he’s able to write this down perfectly an…"
"All this could be part of a plan. But it’s some plan, isn’t it?; With mass destruction, pitiless extermination and an…"
"My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywh…"
"If someone tells me that I've hurt their feelings I'm still waiting to hear what your point is."
"It is said that Louis Farrakhan’s racist crackpot Nation of Islam and its sectarian gang gets young men off drugs. Fo…"
"My challenge is really to say, 'Can you name me a moral action or a statement that has been made by a believer that c…"
"There is no reason at all why there aren't enough people to guard New Orleans and to help stabilise Baghdad."