The speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
JEAN COCTEAUThe speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
JEAN COCTEAUMan seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal. Drugs, alcohol, or lies. Unable to withdraw into himself, he disguises himself. Lies and inaccuracy give him a few moments of comfort.
JEAN COCTEAUStyle is a simple way of saying complicated things.
JEAN COCTEAUElegance ceases to exist when it is noticed.
JEAN COCTEAUSince the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.
JEAN COCTEAUContinue reading Proust. His magnificent intelligence is particularly fond of describing stupidity. Which is ultimately exhausting.
JEAN COCTEAUIt is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
JEAN COCTEAUThe only way to kill death is through photography.
JEAN COCTEAUAfter you have written a thing and you reread it, there is always the temptation to fix it up, to improve it, to remove its poison, blunt its sting.
JEAN COCTEAUI love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.
JEAN COCTEAUListen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don’t like – then cultivate it. That’s the only part of your work that’s individual and worth keeping.
JEAN COCTEAUThe joy of the young is to disobey.
JEAN COCTEAUMay the devil himself splatter you with dung.
JEAN COCTEAUThe reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.
JEAN COCTEAUAnd now I have to confess the unpardonable and the scandalous. I am a happy man. And I am going to tell you the secret of my happiness. It is quite simple. I love mankind. I love love. I hate hate. I try to understand and accept.
JEAN COCTEAUWe must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
JEAN COCTEAU