Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.
JEAN COCTEAUMay the devil himself splatter you with dung.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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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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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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Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live.
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Continue reading Proust. His magnificent intelligence is particularly fond of describing stupidity. Which is ultimately exhausting.
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The 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.
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I have seafoam in my veins, I understand the language of waves.
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The speed of a runaway horse counts for nothing.
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The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.
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Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off torpor, the surprising things which surround us and which our senses record mechanically.
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It is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
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The ability to laugh heartily is the sign of a healthy soul.
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Poetry is indispensable – if I only knew what for.
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There’s no such thing as love; only proof of love.
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What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.
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Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
JEAN COCTEAU






