A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.
JEAN COCTEAUDo as the beautiful woman: see to your figure and your petticoats. Though, of course, I am not speaking literally.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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I feel myself inhabited by a force or being — very little known to me. It gives the orders; I follow.
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The ability to laugh heartily is the sign of a healthy soul.
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Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying to untie.
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I’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality.
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The joy of the young is to disobey.
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The speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
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Art is science in the flesh.
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The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.
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Since these mysteries exceed my grasp, I shall pretend to have organized them.
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Poetry, being elegance itself, cannot hope to achieve visibility… It insists on living its own life.
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When I write, I disturb. When I show a film, I disturb. When I exhibit my painting, I disturb, and I disturb if I don’t. I have a knack for disturbing.
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The prettiest dresses are worn to be taken off.
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I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.
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Wealth is an inborn attitude of mind, like poverty. The pauper who has made his pile may flaunt his spoils, but cannot wear them plausibly.
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The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.
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