Man 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 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.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
-
-
The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed.
JEAN COCTEAU -
And 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 COCTEAU -
We are in a period of such individualism that one no longer speaks of disciples; one speaks of thieves.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The prettiest dresses are worn to be taken off.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The public is never pleased with what we do, wanting always a copy of what we have done.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Continue reading Proust. His magnificent intelligence is particularly fond of describing stupidity. Which is ultimately exhausting.
JEAN COCTEAU -
I feel myself inhabited by a force or being — very little known to me. It gives the orders; I follow.
JEAN COCTEAU -
The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Tact in audacity is knowing how far you can go without going too far.
JEAN COCTEAU -
It 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 COCTEAU -
Not only should you not accept a prize. You should not try to deserve one either.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Whatever the world condemns you for, make it your own. It is yourself.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.
JEAN COCTEAU -
Lying is the only art form that the public sanctions and instinctively prefers to reality.
JEAN COCTEAU