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
cute chance life-is
Life is so largely controlled by chance that its conduct can be but a perpetual improvisation.
life passing-moments common-sense
The passing moment is all we can be sure of; it is only common sense to extract its utmost value from it.
life pain men
The life force is vigorous. The delight that accompanies it counter-balances all the pains and hardships that confront men. It makes life worth living.
thinking things-in-life two
You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. 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. 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.
men things-in-life pleasure
Men seek but one thing in life - their pleasure.
life love-is tragedy
The tragedy of love is indifference.
life believe men
Man has always sacrificed truth to his vanity, comfort and advantage. He lives not by truth but by make-believe.
life nature common-sense
Common sense and nature will do a lot to make the pilgrimage of life not too difficult.
fun peculiar life-is
Life is really very fantastic, and one has to have a peculiar sense of humour to see the fun of it. [Virtue]
inspirational life death
Death doesn't affect the living because it has not happened yet. Death doesn't concern the dead because they have ceased to exist.
life cosmos
..as the cosmos are in place, so be it with your life...
sacrifice men things-in-life
You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity. You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they? 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. Men seek but one thing in life -- their pleasure.
brother book single-life
What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably... have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature.
happy-life space wish
I wish I could make you see how much fuller the life I offer you is than anything you have a conception of. I wish I could make you see how exciting the life of the spirit is and how rich in experience. It's illimitable. It's such a happy life. There's only one thing like it, when you're up in a plane by yourself, high, high, and only infinity surrounds you. You're intoxicated by the boundless space.