A Quote by Bill Bryson

To an American the whole purpose of living, the one constant confirmation of continued existence, is to cram as much as sensual pleasure as possible into one's mouth more or less continuously. Gratification, instant and lavish, is a birthright

Bill Bryson

Quote Topics

American Birthright Confirmation Constant Continuously Cram Existence Gratification Instant Lavish Less Living More More Or Less Mouth Much Pleasure Possible Purpose Sensual Sensual Pleasure Whole

Quote Author

Bill Bryson
American - Writer
Born: December 8, 1951

Real danger is nothing more than just living. Of course, living is merely the chaos of existence, but more than that it's a crazy mixed-up business of dismantling existence instant by instant to the point where the original chaos is restored, and taking strength from the uncertainty and the fear that chaos brings to re-create existence instant by instant. You won't find another job as dangerous as that. There isn't any fear in existence itself, or any uncertainty, but living creates it.

Yukio Mishima

The existence of pleasure is the first mystery. The existence of pain has prompted far more philosophical speculation. Pleasure and pain need to be considered together; they are inseparable. Yet the space filled by each is perhaps different. Pleasure, defined as a sense of gratification, is essential for nature

John Berger

We live in a society right now which is the last phase of the ecosystem in terms of the old entertainment value, or the old entertainment construction, which is we've gone down to this instant gratification, instant numbers, instant understanding, instant. But it's like the exact - it has perfected itself to the instant click, when, in a way, creativity originates as a much more complex beast. So we now have to reinvent a new canvas where we can indulge in it. And that's where the digital revolution creates a whole new ecosystem of entertainment.

Nicolas Winding Refn

To me, being able to find gratification in more venues, rather than greater gratification in a few, seems like a much more sane way of living.

Ian Bogost

I am very much in the instant-gratification camp. I am too much of an actor not to be. I am used to doing my work and having someone comment immediately. So I think that I'm a little hooked on that gratification structure.

Zoe Kazan

I'm an American and I want instant gratification.

Jude Deveraux

Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it, you're living and if you don't do it, you're not living. And that's all there is to it. I've now given you the basic fundamental of existence and that really is it.

L. Ron Hubbard

Business is really more agreeable than pleasure; it interests the whole mind, the aggregate nature of man more continuously, and more deeply. But it does not look as if it did.

Walter Bagehot

As people buy less and less records, it's become more and more important for me to spend more and more on them - to lavish that much more attention on them. The Bad Seeds were always quite protective and old school, but Grinderman has opened us up to do anything and be shameless. We're not so precious about it.

Nick Cave

That man alone loves himself rightly who procures the greatest possible good to himself through the whole of his existence and so pursues pleasure as not to give for it more than it is worth.

Benjamin Franklin

The collateralized debt obligation, the CDO, is a structure which allows you to more or less continuously choose how much risk you want to take in a whole batch of securities. And the reason why they got us into so much trouble is that it's hard to figure out how much risk you really are taking.

Robert F. Engle

We know – it has been measured in many experiments – that children with strong impulse control grow to be better adjusted, more dependable, achieve higher grades in school and college and have more success in their careers than others. Success depends on the ability to delay gratification, which is precisely what a consumerist culture undermines. At every stage, the emphasis is on the instant gratification of instinct. In the words of the pop group Queen, “I want it all and I want it now.” A whole culture is being infantilised.

Jonathan Sacks

Let us consider what we call vicious luxury. No gratification, however sensual, can of itself be esteemed vicious. A gratification is only vicious when it engrosses all a man's expense, and leaves no ability for such acts of duty and generosity as are required by his situation and fortune. The same care and toil that raise a dish of peas at Christmas would give bread to a whole family during six months.

David Hume

Instant gratification is not as good as that gratification which comes dripping slow, over the sere seasons.

Donald Barthelme

Meat is complicated. We have to be thoughtful about the ecosystem that we're living in and not to destroy it because of the instant gratification and the demand of others.