Youth can only assert itself through the conviction that its ventures surpass all others and resemble nothing.
JEAN COCTEAUPoetry is a religion without hope. The poet exhausts himself in its service, knowing that, in the long run, a masterpiece is nothing but the performance of a trained dog on very shaky ground.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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One must not mistake majority for truth.
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Poetry, being elegance itself, cannot hope to achieve visibility… It insists on living its own life.
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A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.
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Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.
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The public is never pleased with what we do, wanting always a copy of what we have done.
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A true photographer is as rare as a true poet or a true painter.
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The joy of the young is to disobey.
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The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.
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Living is a horizontal fall.
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The ability to laugh heartily is the sign of a healthy soul.
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Art is science in the flesh.
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Listen 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.
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All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
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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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It is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
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