Upton Sinclair Quotes

September 20 1878 – November 25, 1968

Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. (September 20 1878 – November 25 1968) was a prolific American author who wrote in many genres, often advocating Socialist views, and achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the twentieth century.

The supreme crime of the church to-day is that everywhere and in all its operations and influences it is on the side of sloth of mind ; that it banishes brains, it sanctifies stupidity , it canonizes incompetence.

Book Two : The Church of Good Society, "The Canonization of Incompetence"

Share

More Upton Sinclair Quotes

I discover that hardly a week passes that some one does not start a new cult, or revive an old one; if I had a hundred life-times I could not know all the creeds and ceremonies, the services and rituals, the litanies and liturgies, the hymns, anthems and offertories of Bootstrap-lifting.

Upton Sinclair
— Upton Sinclair, The Profits of Religion : An Essay in Economic Interpretation (1918), Introductory, "Bootstrap-lifting".

Tags: discover, week, passes, one, start, new, cult, revive, old

Share
twitter

What life means to me is to put the content of Shelley into the form of Zola . The proletarian writer is a writer with a purpose; he thinks no more of "art for art's sake" than a man on a sinking ship thinks of painting a beautiful picture in the cabin; he thinks of getting ashore and then there will be time enough for art.

Upton Sinclair
— Cosmopolitan (October 1906)

Tags: What, life, means, me, content, Shelley, form, proletarian, writer

Share
twitter

Let us redeem our great words from base uses. Let that no longer call itself Love , which knows that it is not free !

Upton Sinclair
— Love's Pilgrimage (1911)

Tags: us, redeem, our, great, words, base, uses, longer, call

Share
twitter

All art is propaganda . It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda.

Upton Sinclair
— Mammonart - an Essay in Economic Interpretation Ch. 2 Who Owns the Artists? (1925)

Tags: art, propaganda, universally, inescapably, sometimes, unconsciously, often, deliberately

Share
twitter

I used to say to our audiences: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"

Upton Sinclair
— I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked (1935), ISBN 0-520-08198-6; repr. University of California Press, 1994, p. 109.

Tags: used, our, audiences, difficult, man, understand, something, when, salary

Share
twitter

Fascism is capitalism plus murder .

Upton Sinclair
— Presidential Agent II (1944), ISBN 1-93131-318-0

Tags: Fascism, capitalism, plus, murder

Share
twitter

I just put on what the lady says. I've been married three times, so I've had lots of supervision.

Upton Sinclair
— Interview in The New York Times (7 September 1962)

Tags: what, lady, been, married, three, times, supervision

Share
twitter

The first thing brought forth by the study of any religion , ancient or modern, is that it is based upon Fear , born of it, fed by it and that it cultivates the source from which its nourishment is derived.

Upton Sinclair
— Book One : The Church of the Conquerors, "The Great Fear"

Tags: first, thing, study, religion, ancient, modern, based, Fear, born

Share
twitter

Now and then it occurs to one to reflect upon what slender threads of accident depend the most important circumstances of his life ; to look back and shudder, realizing how close to the edge of nothingness his being has come.

Upton Sinclair
— Section 1 (100%: the Story of a Patriot (1920))

Tags: Now, then, occurs, one, reflect, what, slender, threads, accident

Share
twitter

An event of colossal and overwhelming significance may happen all at once, but the words which describe it have to come one by one in a long chain.

Upton Sinclair
— Section 2 (100%: the Story of a Patriot (1920))

Tags: event, colossal, overwhelming, significance, may, once, words, describe, one

Share
twitter

Wherever there was a group of people, and a treasure to be administered, there Peter knew was backbiting and scandal and intriguing and spying, and a chance for somebody whose brains were "all there."

Upton Sinclair
— Section 2 (100%: the Story of a Patriot (1920))

Tags: Wherever, there, group, people, treasure, administered, knew, scandal, intriguing

Share
twitter

It was cold and clammy in the stone cell; they called it the "cooler," and used it to reduce the temperature of the violent and intractable. It was a trouble-saving device; they just left the man there and forgot him, and his own tormented mind did the rest.

Upton Sinclair
— Section 4 (100%: the Story of a Patriot (1920))

Tags: cold, clammy, stone, cell, cooler, used, reduce, temperature, violent

Share
twitter

I discover that hardly a week passes that some one does not start a new cult, or revive an old one; if I had a hundred life-times I could not know all the creeds and ceremonies, the services and rituals, the litanies and liturgies, the hymns, anthems and offertories of Bootstrap-lifting.

Upton Sinclair
— Upton Sinclair, The Profits of Religion : An Essay in Economic Interpretation (1918), Introductory, "Bootstrap-lifting".

Tags: discover, week, passes, one, start, new, cult, revive, old

Share
twitter

I have not only found good health, but perfect health; I have found a new state of being, a potentiality of life; a sense of lightness and cleanness and joyfulness, such as I did not know could exist in the human body.

Upton Sinclair
— Upton Sinclair, The Fasting Cure

Tags: found, good, health, perfect, new, state, potentiality, life, sense

Share
twitter

Man is an evasive beast, given to cultivating strange notions about himself. He is humiliated by his simian ancestry, and tries to deny his animal nature, to persuade himself that he is not limited by its weaknesses nor concerned in its fate.

Upton Sinclair
— Upton Sinclair, The Profits of Religion, (1918), "Introduction"

Tags: Man, evasive, beast, given, cultivating, strange, notions, himself, humiliated

Share
twitter
  • Dictionary
  • Thesaurus
  • Examples
    • See in a sentence
    • Example articles
  • Quotes
    • Famous Quotes
    • Quote Articles
  • Spanish
    • Spanish-English Translation
    • Reference
  • Reference
    • Education
    • ESL
    • Grammar
    • Abbreviations
    • Biography
    • Books & Literature
    • Examples
    • Foreign Languages
    • Resources
    • Slideshows
  • Word Finder
    • 4 Pics 1 Word Answers
    • Anagram Solver
    • Scrabble Dictionary
    • Unscramble
    • Word Cookies Cheat
    • Scrabble Checker
    • Words With Friends Cheat
    • More Games
Share
  • Dictionary
  • Thesaurus
  • Examples
    • See in a sentence
    • Example articles
  • Quotes
    • Famous Quotes
    • Quote Articles
  • Spanish
    • Spanish-English Translation
    • Reference
  • Reference
    • Education
    • ESL
    • Grammar
    • Abbreviations
    • Biography
    • Books & Literature
    • Examples
    • Foreign Languages
    • Resources
    • Slideshows
  • Word Finder
    • 4 Pics 1 Word Answers
    • Anagram Solver
    • Scrabble Dictionary
    • Unscramble
    • Word Cookies Cheat
    • Scrabble Checker
    • Words With Friends Cheat
    • More Games
Share
  • Home
  • Quotes
  • Authors
  • upton sinclair
Share
Send your feedback to YourDictionary
Get our free Amazon Alexa Skills!

Join YourDictionary today

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Please set a username for yourself.
People will see it as Author Name with your public flash cards.