It is not I who become addicted, it is my body.
JEAN COCTEAUIt is not I who become addicted, it is my body.
JEAN COCTEAUThe public is never pleased with what we do, wanting always a copy of what we have done.
JEAN COCTEAUI know that poetry is indispensable, but to what I could not say.
JEAN COCTEAUIt is difficult to live without opium after having known it because it is difficult, after knowing opium, to take earth seriously. And unless one is a saint, it is difficult to live without taking earth seriously.
JEAN COCTEAUAn original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.
JEAN COCTEAUThe joy of the young is to disobey.
JEAN COCTEAUIt is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
JEAN COCTEAUWhatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.
JEAN COCTEAUI’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality.
JEAN COCTEAUThe poet, by composing poems, uses a language that is neither dead nor living, that few people speak, and few people understand We are the servants of an unknown force that lives within us, manipulates us, and dictates this language to us.
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 COCTEAUYouth can only assert itself through the conviction that its ventures surpass all others and resemble nothing.
JEAN COCTEAUI have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.
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 COCTEAUWealth 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 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 COCTEAU