William Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965)
English playwright, novelist, and short story writer; often published as simply W Somerset Maugham.
Conscience is the guardian in the individual of the rules which the community has evolved for its own preservation.
… habits in writing as in life are only useful if they are broken as soon as they cease to be advantageous.
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.
Religion is...a conspiracy of...priests to gain control over the people...
She saw shrewdly that the world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress.
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.
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.
It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for they are full of the truthless ideals which have been instilled into them, and each time they come in contact with the real they are bruised and wounded.
The Riviera isn't only a sunny place for shady people.
You can't learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.
Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.
The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel.'
We have long passed the Victorian Era when asterisks were followed after a certain interval by a baby.
Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequences than to have a really affectionate mother.
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.
Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it.
He knew that women appreciated neither irony nor sarcasm, but simple jokes and funny stories. He was amply provided with both.
To eat well in England, you should have a breakfast three times a day.
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.