"The world in general doesn't know what to make of originality; it is startled out of its comfortable habits of thought, and its first reaction is one of anger."
W. Somerset MaughamTiny Panda Quotes
Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a prolific British playwright, novelist, and short story writer, whose keen observations of human nature and society shaped his literary legacy. Born in Paris to English parents, Maugham's early life was marked by personal challenges, including the loss of his parents and a stutter that plagued him until adulthood. His extensive travels and experiences in diverse cultures informed his writing, leading to acclaimed works like "Of Human Bondage" and "The Razor's Edge." Maugham's insights into the human condition continue to resonate, securing his place as a literary giant.
22 quotes found
"The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill."
W. Somerset Maugham"Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul."
W. Somerset Maugham"Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all."
W. Somerset Maugham"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person."
W. Somerset Maugham
"Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it."
W. Somerset Maugham"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."
W. Somerset Maugham"When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character."
W. Somerset Maugham"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."
W. Somerset Maugham"I can imagine no more comfortable frame of mind for the conduct of life than a humorous resignation."
W. Somerset Maugham
"You are not angry with people when you laugh at them. Humor teaches tolerance."
W. Somerset Maugham
"Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young."
W. Somerset Maugham
"It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one's dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent."
W. Somerset Maugham"Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species."
W. Somerset Maugham
"Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it."
W. Somerset Maugham"Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five."
W. Somerset Maugham"The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind."
W. Somerset Maugham"At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely."
W. Somerset Maugham"What makes old age hard to bear is not the failing of one's faculties, mental and physical, but the burden of one's memories."
W. Somerset Maugham