W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham CHwas a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth25 January 1874
mistake waiting matter
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 ... Don't wait for experience to come to you; go out after experience. Experience is your material.
misery mood things-to-do
The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is to put it out of its misery as soon as possible.
men copernicus bears
There are men whose sense of humour is so ill developed that they still bear a grudge against Copernicus because he dethroned them from the central position in the universe. They feel it a personal affront that they can no longer consider themselves the pivot upon which turns the whole of created things.
song dull wit
Music-hall songs provide the dull with wit, just as proverbs provide them with wisdom.
pain children artist
It is not for nothing that artists have called their works the children of their brains and likened the pains of production to the pains of childbirth.
past would-be enough
It is bad enough to know the past; it would be intolerable to know the future.
men garden eden
A soul is a troublesome possession, and when man developed it he lost the Garden of Eden.
women firsts duty
The first duty of a woman is to be pretty, the second is to be well-groomed, and the third is never to contradict.
women good-woman wicked
A woman may be as wicked as she likes, but if she isn't pretty it won't do her much good.
women heart two
Women's hearts are like old china, none the worse for a break or two.
wise men two
I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed.
memories heart compassion
Everyone had some defect, or body or of mind: he thought of all the people he had known (the whole world was like a sick house and there was no rhyme or reason in it), he saw a long procession, deformed in body, warped in mind, some with illness of the flesh, weak hearts or weak lungs, and some with illness of the spirit, languor of will, or craving for liquor. At that moment he felt a holy compassion for them all. …The words of the dying God crossed his memory: Forgive them, for they know not what they do.
too-late mediocrity doe
It is cruel to discover one's mediocrity only when it is too late. It does not improve the temper.
firsts doe lovers
They say a woman always remembers her first lover with affection; but perhaps she does not always remember him.