We are in a period of such individualism that one no longer speaks of disciples; one speaks of thieves.
JEAN COCTEAUWe are in a period of such individualism that one no longer speaks of disciples; one speaks of thieves.
JEAN COCTEAUAfter the writer’s death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.
JEAN COCTEAUSilence moves faster when it’s going backward.
JEAN COCTEAUArt produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.
JEAN COCTEAUThe job of the poet (a job which can’t be learned) consists of placing those objects of the visible world which have become invisible due to the glue of habit, in an unusual position which strikes the soul and gives them a tragic force.
JEAN COCTEAUIf it has to choose who is to be crucified, the crowd will always save Barabbas.
JEAN COCTEAUOne must not mistake majority for truth.
JEAN COCTEAUMy method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.
JEAN COCTEAUWe must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?
JEAN COCTEAUAppreciation of art is a moral erection, otherwise mere dilettantism.
JEAN COCTEAUI love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.
JEAN COCTEAUNothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
JEAN COCTEAUThe speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
JEAN COCTEAUIt is not I who become addicted, it is my body.
JEAN COCTEAUNever do what a specialist can do better. Discover your own specialty. Do not despair if your specialty appears to be more delicate, a lesser thing. Make up in finesse what you lose in force.
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 COCTEAU