"I am an anarchist in politics and an impressionist in art as well as a symbolist in literature. Not that I understand what these terms mean, but I take them to be all merely synonyms of pessimist"

Henry Brooks Adams' quote is a funny method of expressing his cynical outlook on life. He is saying that he is an anarchist in politics, an impressionist in art, and a symbolist in literature, but he does not actually comprehend what these terms indicate. He is implying that all of these terms are simply various methods of saying that he is a pessimist. This quote is a humorous method of expressing his outlook on life, and it is a suggestion that we need to not take ourselves too seriously. Adams is suggesting that we should not be too attached to labels and meanings, and that we should rather focus on our own private outlooks and point of views.