It has been said that good prose should resemble the conversation of a well-bred man. W. Somerset Maugham More Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham More Quotes From W. Somerset Maugham It is dangerous to let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it was the illusion they loved. W. Somerset Maugham behind-the-scenesillusionfame There's always one who loves and one who lets himself be loved. W. Somerset Maugham human-bondagelovelife Art is a manifestation of emotion, and emotion speaks a language that all may understand. W. Somerset Maugham emotionmayart How can I be reasonable? To me our love was everything and you were my whole life. It is not very pleasant to realize that to you it was only an episode. W. Somerset Maugham broken-heartbreakupbreak-up I can imagine no more comfortable frame of mind for the conduct of life than a humorous resignation. W. Somerset Maugham happinesslifefunny If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech. W. Somerset Maugham silenceraceuse Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five. W. Somerset Maugham happinessinspirationallife Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man. W. Somerset Maugham failurecharactermen I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me. W. Somerset Maugham long-agolife-is-shortwork All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences. W. Somerset Maugham story-writersmatterwriting Oh, it's always the same,' she sighed, 'if you want men to behave well to you, you must be beastly to them; if you treat them decently they make you suffer for it. W. Somerset Maugham sufferingwantmen if you'd ever had a grown-up daughter you'd know that by comparison a bucking steer is easy to manage. And as to knowing what goes on inside her - well, it's much better to pretend you're the simple, innocent old fool she almost certainly takes you for. W. Somerset Maugham daughtersimplemother You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences. W. Somerset Maugham positive-thinkinginspirationalworld The tragedy of love is not death or separation. How long do you think it would have been before one or other of them ceased to care? Oh, it is dreadfully bitter to look at a woman whom you have loved with all your heart and soul, so that you felt you could not bear to let her out of your sight, and realize that you would not mind if you never saw her again. The tragedy of love is indifference. W. Somerset Maugham heartlove-isthinking You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose. They're both very good things. I personally prefer freedom of thought. But in England you get neither: you're ground down by convention. You can't think as you like and you can't act as you like. That's because it's a democratic nation. I expect America's worse. W. Somerset Maugham things-in-lifetwothinking Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all. W. Somerset Maugham smellsimplebeauty Tolerance is only another name for indifference. W. Somerset Maugham toleranceatheismnames Of all the hokum with which this country [America] is riddled, the most odd is the common notion that it is free of class distinctions. W. Somerset Maugham classcountryamerica Now it is a funny thing about life. If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it. If you utterly decline to make do with what you can get, then somehow or other, you are very likely to get what you want. W. Somerset Maugham funny-thingsdeterminationwant I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art. W. Somerset Maugham beautifulbookart
