1933-, Hungarian Novelist, Critic
As both capitalist and communist states — not to mention the technological world –have evolved under the illusion that men purposefully built them, ideological optimism seeps into every niche of our lives. It is made worse by mass culture which feeds our
Stephen Vizinczey – [Optimism]
Consistency is a virtue for trains: what we want from a philosopher is insights, whether he comes by them consistently or not.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Consistency]
Is it possible that I am not alone in believing that in the dispute between Galileo and the Church, the Church was right and the center of man's universe is the earth?
Stephen Vizinczey – [World]
Most bad books get that way because their authors are engaged in trying to justify themselves. If a vain author is an alcoholic, then the most sympathetically portrayed character in his book will be an alcoholic. This sort of thing is very boring for outsiders.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Writers and Writing]
Perhaps in a book review it is not out of place to note that the safety of the state depends on cultivating the imagination.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Imagination]
Powerful men in particular suffer from the delusion that human beings have no memories. I would go so far as to say that the distinguishing trait of powerful men is the psychotic certainty that people forget acts of infamy as easily as their parents birth
Stephen Vizinczey – [Power]
Strange as it may seem, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and formal education positively fortifies it.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Stupidity]
The only virtue a character needs to possess between hardcovers, even if he bears a real person's name, is vitality: if he comes to life in our imaginations, he passes the test.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Virtue]
We now have a whole culture based on the assumption that people know nothing and so anything can be said to them.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Popular Culture]
When you close your eyes to tragedy, you close your eyes to greatness.
Stephen Vizinczey – [Tragedies]