793 Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham

The artist produces for the liberation of his soul.

Common-sense appears to be only another name for the thoughtlessness of the unthinking. It is made of the prejudices of childhood, the idiosyncrasies of individual character and the opinion of the newspapers.

An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do.

Perfection is what American women expect to find in their husbands... but English women only hope to find in their butlers.

It takes two to make a love affair and a mans meat is too often a woman's poison.

Comedy appeals to the collective mind of the audience and this grows fatigued; while farce appeals to a more robust organ, their collective belly.

Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.

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.

Art is a manifestation of emotion, and emotion speaks a language that all may understand.