Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death. To smoke opium is to get out of the train while it is still moving. It is to concern oneself with something other than life or death.
JEAN COCTEAUAn original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
-
-
If it has to choose who is to be crucified, the crowd will always save Barabbas.
JEAN COCTEAU -
A film is a petrified fountain of thought.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.
JEAN COCTEAU -
You have comfort. You don’t have luxury. And don’t tell me that money plays a part. The luxury I advocate has nothing to do with money. It cannot be bought. It is the reward of those who have NO Fear or Discomfort.
JEAN COCTEAU -
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.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Appreciation of art is a moral erection, otherwise mere dilettantism.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.
JEAN COCTEAU -
We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
JEAN COCTEAU -
There’s no such thing as love; only proof of love.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The artist is a kind of prison from which the works of art escape.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The extreme limit of wisdom, that’s what the public calls madness.
JEAN COCTEAU -
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.
JEAN COCTEAU -
I have seafoam in my veins, I understand the language of waves.
JEAN COCTEAU -
My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.
JEAN COCTEAU -
An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.
JEAN COCTEAU






