I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.
JEAN COCTEAUPoetry 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.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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Listen 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.
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Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed.
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It is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious.
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Silence moves faster when it’s going backward.
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I have lost my seven best friends, which is to say God has had mercy on me seven times without realizing it. He lent a friendship, took it from me, sent me another.
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When I write, I disturb. When I show a film, I disturb. When I exhibit my painting, I disturb, and I disturb if I don’t. I have a knack for disturbing.
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Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.
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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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I only fear the death of others. For me, true death is that of the people I love.
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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.
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The 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.
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An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.
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My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.
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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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Lying is the only art form that the public sanctions and instinctively prefers to reality.
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