Mason Cooley
Overview
 
Mason Cooley was an American aphorist known for his witty aphorisms. One of these such aphorisms Cooley developed was "The time I kill is killing me."

He was professor emeritus of English, speech and world literature at the College of Staten Island
College of Staten Island
The College of Staten Island is a four-year, senior college of and is one of the 11 senior colleges in the City University of New York. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studies lead to bachelor's and associate's degrees. The master's degree is awarded in 13 professional...

. He was also an assistant professor of English at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 from 1959 to 1967 and an adjunct professor from 1980 to 1988.

He received his B.A.
Quotations

Lonely people keep up a ceaseless flow of commentary on themselves.

City Aphorisms (1984)

Ideology has shaped the very sofa on which I sit.

City Aphorisms, Third Selection (1986)

Wisdom remembers. Happiness forgets.

City Aphorisms, Third Selection (1986)

In an aphorism, aptness counts for more than truth.

City Aphorisms, Fourth Selection (1987)

Scepticism is always a back road leading to some credo or other.

City Aphorisms, Fourth Selection (1987)

I am easy-going right up to the borders of my self-interest.

City Aphorisms, Sixth Selection (1989)

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

City Aphorisms, Sixth Selection (1989)

Timidity keeps me safe and sad in a narrow room.

City Aphorisms, Eighth Selection (1991)

Writing an upbeat aphorism is a temptation, but decorum forbids.

City Aphorisms, Eighth Selection (1991)

Reality is the name we give to our disappointments.

City Aphorisms, Ninth Selection (1992)

 
x
OK