Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.
JEAN COCTEAUAfter the writer’s death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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Poetry 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.
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Continue reading Proust. His magnificent intelligence is particularly fond of describing stupidity. Which is ultimately exhausting.
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You have comfort. You don’t have luxury. And don’t tell me that money plays a part. The luxury I advocate has nothing to do with money. It cannot be bought. It is the reward of those who have NO Fear or Discomfort.
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Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.
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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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If a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.
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Do as the beautiful woman: see to your figure and your petticoats. Though, of course, I am not speaking literally.
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The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.
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The artist is a kind of prison from which the works of art escape.
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If it has to choose who is to be crucified, the crowd will always save Barabbas.
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Since these mysteries exceed my grasp, I shall pretend to have organized them.
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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.
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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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Art is science in the flesh.
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An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.
JEAN COCTEAU






