John Simon Quotes & Sayings

Like springs, adaptations can only go downhill. — John Simon

We like to be the largest outside investor, and the first outside investor. — John Simon

If you love language, it will love you back. — John Simon

Diana Rigg is built like a brick mausoleum with insufficient flying buttresses. — John Simon

This case is just as racist as the fictional, but unfortunately all too typical case, in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. — John Simon

Although most informed balletomanes would place artistry above technique, artistry without a strong technique is a flaccid, bloodless thing indeed, whereas technique without much artistry can still dazzle us in the manner of the circus or sports arena translated to a higher plane. Though the perfect blend of the two elements is the consummation devoutly to be wished, the real enemy of good ballet is not the slight preponderance of one or the other but the prevalence of pantomime
the turning of dance into second-rate theater. — John Simon

Retailing is a unique destination. What you need is stronger critical mass. — John Simon

Chess is a cold bath for the mind — John Simon

Michael Taylor is not being executed for homicide. Michael Taylor is being executed for raping a white female. — John Simon

People are looking around. They are looking to do something with their time and money. The question is, what? — John Simon

Robert Creely's poems have two main characteristics. 1) They are short; 2) they are not short enough. — John Simon

It's hard to lose when your standards are so low. — John Simon

Activating oxygen can produce compounds called radicals that put oxidative stress on cells. Such stress could ultimately lead to cancer and other diseases. — John Simon

It's wonderful to be hated by idiots. — John Simon

Democracy encourages the majority to decide things about which the majority is ignorant. — John Simon

Dinner theater is anti-culture. — John Simon

The pressure on language to deteriorate does not come merely from below, from the "democratic" lev-elers. It comes also from above, from the fancy jar-gonmongers, idle game players, fashionable coteries for second-rate intellectuals. — John Simon

The ultimate evil is the weakness, cowardice, that is one of the constituents of so much human nature. When, rarely, unalloyed nobility does occur, its chances of prevailing are slim. Yet it exists, and its mere existence is reason enough for not wiping the name of mankind off the slate. — John Simon