W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

A novelist must preserve a childlike belief in the importance of things which common sense considers of no great consequence.

W. Somerset Maugham

• Great
• Belief
• Common Sense
• Novelists

• Previous
• Next

Quotes to Explore

• Money often determines not only who gets elected, but what gets done. Which voices do lawmakers listen to, the banks or home owners, coal companies, or asthma sufferers, the CEOs or the unemployed?

  

  Madeleine M. Kunin
  • Money
  • Done
  • Home

• I simply adore getting dressed up for a special occasion. I feel incredible stepping out in luxurious fabrics and a bit of bling. That's also how I feel about special-occasion dining rooms. Because these aren't everyday spaces, they contain all sorts of drama for that once-in-a-while 'wow' event.

  

  Candice Olson
  • Up
  • Feel
  • Drama

• It's very important to give back to the community and do anything you can.

  

  Eddie Money
  • Important
  • You
  • Community

• It was my mother's idea. Her feeling was that I didn't have the intelligence to pick a trade myself.

  

  Vidal Sassoon
  • Mother
  • Feeling
  • Myself

• To me, there's no point in writing merely to entertain.

  

  Bebe Moore Campbell
  • Writing
  • Point
  • Entertain

• I just try to keep it simple, not let too many outside things influence me.

  

  D'Brickashaw Ferguson
  • Things
  • Influence
  • Keep

• Nothing is so aggravating than calmness.

  

  Oscar Wilde
  • Nothing
  • Calmness
  • Aggravating

• The first song I did was over a Chief Keef beat – 'Understand Me.' I did that in, like, 2011 or 2012, I think.

  

  Fetty Wap
  • Think
  • Song
  • Me

• In writing a series of stories about the same characters, plan the whole series in advance in some detail, to avoid contradictions and inconsistencies.

  

  L. Sprague de Camp
  • Writing
  • Plan
  • Detail

• While the Forbes Council does offer some benefits and opportunities for members, the Council may want to be careful going forward to avoid the many pitfalls that befell Trump University.

  

  Fabrizio Moreira
  • May
  • Want
  • Trump

• It is ingrained in all living creatures, first of all, to preserve their own safety, to guard against what is harmful, to strive for what is advantageous.

  

  Saint Ambrose
  • First
  • Safety
  • Strive

• We may define therapy as a search for value.

  

  Abraham Maslow
  • May
  • Value
  • Search

• Being outside is a loose theme on 'Paracosm.' Acoustic-sounding instruments have that warmth to them that is really important to communicate. It was really important for me to tell a story – my favorite records have a narrative feel.

  

  Washed Out
  • Important
  • Me
  • Feel

• Too many times, the international community has not prepared the post-conflict period in time.

  

  Federica Mogherini
  • Time
  • Community
  • Period

• I'll take my destiny, whatever that may be, but I'm going to fight for my dignity and my honor.

  

  Ferdinand Marcos
  • May
  • Honor
  • Fight

• I really enjoy doing sitcom television. It allows me to stay in Los Angeles and spend more time with my husband and kids.

  

  Nancy Travis
  • Time
  • Kids
  • Husband

• Fashion is killing women's body image of themselves.

  

  Zac Posen
  • Women
  • Fashion
  • Body

• I love that quiet time when nobody's up and the animals are all happy to see me.

  

  Olivia Newton-John
  • Up
  • Time
  • Love

• I don't like to be me. I'm not so comfortable being me on screen because then I'd be a presenter. I'm not Jimmy Fallon.

  

  Aaron Johnson
  • Me
  • Like
  • Comfortable

• That test should not be about ratings. What should weigh is the knowledge that a public broadcaster delivers programmes that matter.

  

  Jonathan Dimbleby
  • Knowledge

• By my third try, Lady Aithra had lost her patience and brought me to stand before her son while he was in conference with a group of hard-faced Athenian nobles. I smiled unashamedly when she called me willful, wild, and ungrateful, which provoked her so much that she actually dared to declare, “My son, you must not marry this girl. I don’t care how beautiful she is, she’ll bring us nothing but grief and leave Athens in flames!

  

  Esther M. Friesner
  • Son
  • Patience
  • Conference

• I admire Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly a lot because I think they're standup guys.

  

  Bernard Goldberg

• The Canteen Boy, the reason you feel bad for him and you can laugh is because he, and I guess a lot of my characters, they don't notice they're getting made fun of. So they'll say something back that's not that great a quip, but in their mind they won the argument.

  

  Adam Sandler
  • Great
  • Mind
  • Character

• A novelist must preserve a childlike belief in the importance of things which common sense considers of no great consequence.

  

  W. Somerset Maugham
  • Great
  • Belief
  • Common Sense