The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAMWhat do we any of us have but our illusions? And what do we ask of others but that we be allowed to keep them?
More W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
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In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose. They’re both very good things.
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But it may be that the way of life that he has chosen for himself and the peculiar strength and sweetness of his character may have an ever-growing influence over his fellow men so that, long after his death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature.
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Throw yourself into the hurly-burly of life. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, what unhappiness you have to undergo. It is all your material …
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You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action.
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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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I’d sooner be smashed into a mangled pulp by a bus when we cross the street than look forward to a life like yours.
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What does democracy come down to? The persuasive power of slogans invented by wily self-seeking politicians.
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The most valuable thing I have learned from life is to regret nothing.
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When I look back upon the girl I was I hate myself. But I never had a chance. I’m going to bring up my daughter so that she’s free and can stand on her own feet.
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Only a mediocre person is always at his best.
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When you are reconciled to the fact that each is for himself in the world you will ask less from your fellows. They will not disappoint you, and you will look upon them more charitably.
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I don’t think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
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One can be very much in love with a woman without wishing to spend the rest of one’s life with her.
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Life isn’t long enough for love and art.
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The prestige you acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that you are yourself of small account.
W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM