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
use want ethics
In the conduct of life we make use of deliberation to justify ourselves in doing what we want to do.
two religion use
In religion above all things the only thing of use is an objective truth. The only God that is of use is a being who is personal, supreme and good, and whose existence is as certain as that two and two make four.
art purpose use
Art is triumphant when it can use convention as an instrument of its own purpose.
principles useful-things expediency
The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.
use milk cry
It's no use crying over spilt milk, because all of the forces of the universe were bent on spilling it.
race silence use
If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech.
writing stories use
All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.
carry discovered earliest nonsense wiser
From the earliest times the old have rubbed it into the young that they are wiser than they, and before the young had discovered what nonsense this was they were old too, and it profited them to carry on the imposture.
english expect hope perfection women
Perfection is what American women expect to find in their husbands... but English women only hope to find in their butlers.
happens love man woman
Love is what happens to a man and woman who don't know each other.
befall boy bring consequences few worse
Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequences than to have a really affectionate mother.
cute chance life-is
Life is so largely controlled by chance that its conduct can be but a perpetual improvisation.
love men knows
Love is what happens to men and women who don't know each other.
knows rules three writers-and-writing
There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.