W. Somerset Maugham Quotes - Page 5

Quotes about:

• Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  People, Perfection, Sometimes

  W. Somerset Maugham (2013). “The Essential W. Somerset Maugham Collection”, p.1397, eBookIt.com

  23 Copy quote

• As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only at times.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Love, Relationship, Women

  W. Somerset Maugham (2006). “The Moon and Sixpence”, p.117, Courier Corporation

  45 Copy quote

• We know our friends by their defects rather than by their merits.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Inspirational, Life, Friendship

  W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

  8 Copy quote

• 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

  Heart, Thinking, Love Is

  W. Somerset Maugham (2015). “The Trembling of a Leaf: Stories of the South Sea Islands”, p.85, Xist Publishing

  14 Copy quote

• 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

  Beautiful, Art, Book

  21 Copy quote

• The future will one day be the present and will seem as unimportant as the present does now.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  One Day, Doe, Seems

  W. Somerset Maugham (2010). “The Summing Up”, p.50, Random House

  11 Copy quote

• I'd sooner be smashed into a mangled pulp by a bus when we cross the street than look forward to a life like yours.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Looks, Crosses, Bus

  W. Somerset Maugham (1939). “Christmas Holiday”

  16 Copy quote

• Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life's ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Perfection, Dull, Irony

  W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

  9 Copy quote

• It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched for they are full of the truthless ideals which have been instilled in them, and each time they come into contact with the real, they are bruised and wounded.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Truth, Real, Youth

  W. Somerset Maugham (2013). “The Essential W. Somerset Maugham Collection”, p.1614, eBookIt.com

  8 Copy quote

• 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

  Country, Class, America

  W. Somerset Maugham (2011). “A Writer's Notebook”, p.232, Random House

  23 Copy quote

• The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Running, Art, Water

  W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

  10 Copy quote

• A state of reverie does not avoid reality, it accedes to reality.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Reality, Doe, States

  16 Copy quote

• Words have weight, sound and appearance; it is only by considering these that you can write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Writing, Sound, Looks

  W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

  11 Copy quote

• 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 Scenes, Illusion, Fame

  W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

  94 Copy quote

• It is salutary to train oneself to be no more affected by censure than by praise.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Sad, Courage, Praise

  W. Somerset Maugham (2010). “The Summing Up”, p.220, Random House

  9 Copy quote

• Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Failure, Character, Men

  27 Copy quote

• Illusions are like umbrellas - you no sooner get them than you lose them, and the loss always leaves a little painful wound.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Loss, Littles, Painful

  49 Copy quote

• He had heard people speak contemptuously of money: he wondered if they had ever tried to do without it.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Money, People, Speak

  W. Somerset Maugham (2013). “The Essential W. Somerset Maugham Collection”, p.2219, eBookIt.com

  31 Copy quote

• I want a girl because I want to bring her up so that she shan't make the mistakes I've made. When I look back upon the girl I was I hate myself. But I never had a chance. I'm going to bring up my daughter so that she's free and can stand on her own feet. I´m not going to bring a child into the world, and love her, and bring her up, just so that some man may want to sleep with her so much that he's willing to provide her with board and lodging for the rest of her life.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Girl, Daughter, Children

  W. Somerset Maugham (2009). “The Painted Veil”, p.204, Random House

  36 Copy quote

• 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

  Daughter, Mother, Simple

  19 Copy quote

• If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Race, Silence, Use

  21 Copy quote

• If it is necessary sometimes to lie to others, it is always despicable to lie to oneself.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Lying, Sometimes, Self Deception

  12 Copy quote

• The essential element of love is a belief in its own eternity.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Love Is, Elements, Essentials

  W. Somerset Maugham (2013). “The Essential W. Somerset Maugham Collection”, p.2527, eBookIt.com

  13 Copy quote

• There are times when I look over the various parts of my character with perplexity. I recognize that I am made up of several persons and that the person that at the moment has the upper hand will inevitably give place to another. But which is the real one? All of them or none?

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Real, Character, Hands

  6 Copy quote

• Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Simple, Hunger, Ecstasy

  W. Somerset Maugham (1930). “Cakes and Ale”

  11 Copy quote

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