He is not famous. It may be that he never will be. It may be that when his life at last comes to an end he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water.
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAMWhat does democracy come down to? The persuasive power of slogans invented by wily self-seeking politicians.
More W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
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The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.
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Only a mediocre person is always at his best.
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I personally prefer freedom of thought. But in England you get neither: you’re ground down by convention. You can’t think as you like and you can’t act as you like. That’s because it’s a democratic nation. I expect America’s worse.
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It is dangerous to let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it was the illusion they loved.
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We must be very humble. We must see the beauty of quietness. We must go through life so inconspicuously that Fate does not notice us. And let us seek the love of simple, ignorant people. Their ignorance is better than all our knowledge.
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Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.
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You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they?
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Life isn’t long enough for love and art.
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Any society that values wealth above freedom will lose its freedom, and will ultimately lose its wealth as well
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The tragedy of love is not death or separation. How long do you think it would have been before one or other of them ceased to care?
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The important thing was to love rather than to be loved.
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If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too.
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Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.
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People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.
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Unfortunately sometimes one can’t do what one thinks is right without making someone else unhappy.
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM






