William Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965)
English playwright, novelist, and short story writer; often published as simply W Somerset Maugham.
There are men who are possessed by an urge so strong to do some particular thing that they can't help themselves, they've got to do it. They're prepared to sacrifice everything to satisfy their yearning.
When you have loved as she has loved, you grow old beautifully.
You are not angry with people when you laugh at them. Humour teaches tolerance, and the humorist, with a smile and perhaps a sigh, is more likely to shrug his shoulders than to condemn.
It's no good trying to keep up old friendships. It's painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it.
He knew that women appreciated neither irony nor sarcasm, but simple jokes and funny stories. He was amply provided with both.
Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it.
Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
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.
My own belief is that there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.
She saw shrewdly that the world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress.
Religion is...a conspiracy of...priests to gain control over the people...
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.
… habits in writing as in life are only useful if they are broken as soon as they cease to be advantageous.
Conscience is the guardian in the individual of the rules which the community has evolved for its own preservation.
What mean and cruel things men can do for the love of God.
You know that the Tasmanians, who never committed adultery, are now extinct.
The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes…
Passion is destructive; if it does not destroy, it dies.
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.
In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time.