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, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. – Henry Ward Beecher

It is said that truth comes from the mouths of fools and children: I wish every good mind which feels an inclination for satire would reflect that the finest satirist always has something of both in him. – G. C. (Georg Christoph) Lichtenberg

A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future. – Sydney J. Harris