793 Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham

It must be that there is something naturally absurd in a sincere emotion, though why there should be I cannot imagine, unless it is that man, the ephemeral inhabitant of an insignificant planet, with all his pain and all his striving is but a jest in an eternal mind.

The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches make out.

Words have weight, sound and appearance; it is only by considering these that you can write a sentence that is good to look at and good to listen to.

A state of reverie does not avoid reality, it accedes to reality.

Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature; and the error is ineradicable.

By the time an actor knows how to act any sort of part he is often too old to act any but a few.

Men seek but one thing in life - their pleasure.

The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth.

A good story is obviously a difficult thing to invent, but its difficulty is a poor reason for despising it.