Tag: William Somerset Maugham

I daresay one profits more by the mistakes one makes off one’s own bat than by doing the right thing on somebody’s else advice.

William Somerset Maugham

A soul is a troublesome possession, and when man developed it he lost the Garden of Eden.

William Somerset Maugham

The tragedy of love is indifference.

William Somerset Maugham

Do you know that conversation is one of the greatest pleasures in life? But it wants leisure.

William Somerset Maugham

Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.

William Somerset Maugham

The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes…

William Somerset Maugham

…when you are young you take the kindness people show you as your right…

William Somerset Maugham

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.

William Somerset Maugham

To eat well in England, you should have a breakfast three times a day.

William Somerset Maugham

When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.

William Somerset Maugham