Somerset Maugham's Quotes

"An unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones."

"At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely."

"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."

"Death doesn't affect the living because it has not happened yet. Death doesn't concern the dead because they have ceased to exist."

"Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul."

"I'll give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell... their heart's in the right place, but their head is a thoroughly inefficient organ."

"In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time."

"It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive."

"It wasn't until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say "I don't know."

"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."

"It's no good trying to keep up old friendships. It's painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it."

"Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it."

"Old age is ready to undertake tasks that youth shirked because they would take too long."

"People ask for criticism, but they only want praise."

"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."

"The writer is more concerned to know than to judge."

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

"There are two good things in life - freedom of thought and freedom of action."

"There is no explanation for evil. It must be looked upon as a necessary part of the order of the universe. To ignore it is childish, to bewail it senseless."

"When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character."

"You are not angry with people when you laugh at them. Humor teaches tolerance."

"You know what the critics are. If you tell the truth they only say you're cynical and it does an author no good to get a reputation for cynicism."

"When things are at their worst I find something always happens."

"I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present."

"Life isn't long enough for love and art."

"One can be very much in love with a woman without wishing to spend the rest of one's life with her."

"Women are often under the impression that men are much more madly in love with them than they really are."

"A mother only does her children harm if she makes them the only concern of her life."

"I never spend more than one hour in a gallery. That is as long as one's power of appreciation persists."

"It's always difficult to make conversation with a drunk, and there's no denying it, the sober are at a disadvantage with him."

"Often the best way to overcome desire is to satisfy it."