One might well say that mankind is divisible into two great classes: hosts and guests. Max Beerbohm More Quotes by Max Beerbohm More Quotes From Max Beerbohm The Non-Conformist Conscience makes cowards of us all. Max Beerbohm non-conformistconsciencecoward Somehow, our sense of justice never turns in its sleep till long after the sense of injustice in others has been thoroughly aroused. Max Beerbohm justicesleeplong I was a modest, good-humoured boy. It is Oxford that has made me insufferable. Max Beerbohm maxoxfordboys Reverence is a good thing, and part of its value is that the more we revere a man, the more sharply are we struck by anything in him (and there is always much) that is incongruous with his greatness. Max Beerbohm respectgreatnessmen Anything that is worth doing has been done frequently. Things hitherto undone should be given, I suspect, a wide berth. Max Beerbohm givendoneshould Of course we all know that Morris was a wonderful all-round man, but the act of walking round him has always tired me. Max Beerbohm tiredwonderfulmen I prefer that laughter shall take me unawares. Only so can it master and dissolve me. Max Beerbohm take-melaughtermasters Has the gift of laughter been withdrawn from me? I protest that I do still, at the age of forty-seven, laugh often and loud and long. But not, I believe, so long and loud and often as in my less smiling youth. And I am proud, nowadays, of laughing, and grateful to any one who makes me laugh. That is a bad sign. I no longer take laughter as a matter of course. Max Beerbohm laughtergratefulbelieve Few, as I have said, are the humorists who can induce this state. To master and dissolve us, to give us the joy of being worn down and tired out with laughter, is a success to be won by no man save in virtue of a rare staying-power. Laughter becomes extreme only if it be consecutive. There must be no pauses for recovery. Touch-and-go humour, however happy, is not enough. The jester must be able to grapple his theme and hang on to it, twisting it this way and that, and making it yield magically all manner of strange and precious things. Max Beerbohm recoverytiredlaughter But to die of laughter--this, too, seems to me a great euthanasia. Max Beerbohm euthanasiadieslaughter The loveliest face in all the world will not please you if you see it suddenly eye to eye, at a distance of half an inch from your own. Max Beerbohm distanceeyebeauty The Socratic manner is not a game at which two can play. Max Beerbohm gamesplaytwo Men of genius are not quick judges of character. Max Beerbohm judgingcharactermen A man's work is rather the needful supplement to himself than the outcome of it. Max Beerbohm outcomesworkmen People seem to think there is something inherently noble and virtuous in the desire to go for a walk. Max Beerbohm desirepeoplethinking The lower one's vitality, the more sensitive one is to great art. Max Beerbohm sensitivevitalityart To say that a man is vain means merely that he is pleased with the effect he produces on other people. A conceited man is satisfied with the effect he produces on himself. Max Beerbohm To destroy is still the strongest instinct in nature. Max Beerbohm destroystillinstinctnature There is much to be said for failure. It is much more interesting than success. Max Beerbohm failuresaidsuccessinteresting You will find my last words in the blue folder. Max Beerbohm wordswillyoublue
