W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
Culture is not just an ornament; it is the expression of a nation's character, and at the same time it is a powerful instrument to mould character. The end of culture is right living.
Quotes to Explore
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There are recurring elements in popularized fairy tales, such as absent parents, some sort of struggle, a transformation, and a marriage. If you look at a range of stories, you find many stories about marriage, sexual initiation, abandonment. The plots often revolve around what to me seem to be elemental fears and desires.
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You've got to live your life, you've got to enjoy it.
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It's always hard, when introducing readers to a new world/set of rules, not to lay it all out manual-style in the opening chapters but make sure to put the action and the characters at the front. If people don't become invested in them and in the story, the world in which it's set will become a burden.
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But ours was intended to be a citizen government. It is what of, by and for the people means. And when our most important issue in California is the creation of jobs, I think it's quite helpful to have someone in the U.S. Senate or in the governor's seat who actually knows where jobs come from.
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The fact is that people are good, Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior.
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Literature is one of the most interesting and significant expressions of humanity.
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Retiring for good wasn't difficult. I knew at the time it was right. I was no longer capable of achieving the standards I'd set myself and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
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I'm against a signature look, as that can be very outdating. But having said that, I also know my best qualities, so I'm not going to foolhardily give away my power.
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Unfortunately, America doesn't have a minister of culture, and I don't understand why. It's really bad for young people.
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My first job ever was on 'Peak Practice.' I just had to walk up the stairs. They kept the take where I slipped slightly, which was annoying.
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I'm one of those foolish people who believe the glory days of the record industry aren't behind us. They're actually ahead of us.
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It works both ways: there are victims of tragedy who come to me who have experienced grief of such magnitude that they cannot reconcile. Likewise, I cannot change the mentality of those who committed the crimes or the fools who followed them.
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You know something, if you're not acting, you're not an actor - you've gotta work. No way around it.
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Mind is everything. Muscle - pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.
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We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away.
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Our duties and responsibilities as human beings must be shown to be so incontrovertible that even atheists must recognize them. There are ultimate taboos.
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If I don't create, I don't exist.
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I'm lucky in some ways in that I really don't need more than five or so hours of sleep.
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I'm in control of my life, not anyone in Hollywood.
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I wish I wrote 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt. I mean, that is a classic heartbreak song; it gets me every time.
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What surprised me about directing is how much I loved it and how happy I am to be on the set. I love coming to work in the morning. What I realized is that I never loved acting. I don't love being in the hair and makeup chair. I don't [love] being in costume. To me the strangest thing is that I've just spent the majority of my life in one aspect of this business, and because I was fortunate enough to become successful I never questioned whether I felt at home and found out later in life that I'm much happier directing.
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I have had my share of choices and temptations, too; I would not lie about that. And I would also like to confess that had it not been for my mother, I would probably have never been able to make the right decisions during those formative years of my life.
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Progress everywhere today does seem to come so very heavily disguised as Chaos.
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Culture is not just an ornament; it is the expression of a nation's character, and at the same time it is a powerful instrument to mould character. The end of culture is right living.
