W. Somerset Maugham Quotes
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It may be that if I lead the life I've planned for myself it may affect others; the effect may be no greater than the ripple caused by a stone thrown in a pond, but one ripple causes another.
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The world in general doesn't know what to make of originality; it is startled out of its comfortable habits of thought, and its first reaction is one of anger.
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If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?
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Sentimentality is the only sentiment that rubs you the wrong way.
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I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul’s good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed.
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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.
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You know that the Tasmanians, who never committed adultery, are now extinct.
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It was like making a blunder at a party; there was nothing to do about it, it was dreadfully mortifying, but it showed a lack of sense to ascribe too much importance to it.
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A god that can be understood is not a god.
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It's no use crying over spilt milk, because all of the forces of the universe were bent on spilling it.
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I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
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To eat well in England, you should have a breakfast three times a day.
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Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequence than to have a really affectionate mother.
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Considering how foolishly people act and how pleasantly they prattle, perhaps it would be better for the world if they talked more and did less.
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Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.
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I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.
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The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned.
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He knew that women appreciated neither irony nor sarcasm, but simple jokes and funny stories. He was amply provided with both.
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The passing moment is all we can be sure of; it is only common sense to extract its utmost value from it.
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It is salutary to train oneself to be no more affected by censure than by praise.
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The writer is more concerned to know than to judge.
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The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is to put it out of its misery as soon as possible.
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Conscience is the guardian in the individual of the rules which the community has evolved for its own preservation.
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Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our philosophy.