ABSTRACT
Very few writers have been able to support themselves by writing satire. Art as a vocation, or an avocation, shows up in the careers of many satirists. The romantic notion that all satirists were frustrated in their original ambition, whether that ambition was to write or not, is not borne out by the facts. The satirist is likely to be skeptical about most social institutions. Even satirists who are staunch partisans of specific political systems do not pretend that those systems are perfect. If it is true that the satirist becomes a satirist by adjusting to society, having found that his particular skill as a humorous commentator rewards him with prestige or money, then it is not surprising that his choice of profession is fortuitous. In their personal philosophy, satirists appear to be somewhat more pessimistic than other writers.
