W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham CHwas a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth25 January 1874
christian mother father
You've been brought up like a gentleman and a Christian, and I should be false to the trust laid upon me by your dead father and mother if I allowed you to expose yourself to such temptation.' Well, I know I'm not a Christian and I'm beginning to doubt whether I'm a gentleman,' said Philip.
happy-life space wish
I wish I could make you see how much fuller the life I offer you is than anything you have a conception of. I wish I could make you see how exciting the life of the spirit is and how rich in experience. It's illimitable. It's such a happy life. There's only one thing like it, when you're up in a plane by yourself, high, high, and only infinity surrounds you. You're intoxicated by the boundless space.
gestures heroic easy
He found that it was easy to make a heroic gesture, but hard to abide by its results.
fun peculiar life-is
Life is really very fantastic, and one has to have a peculiar sense of humour to see the fun of it. [Virtue]
party too-much blunders
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.
common-sense sticks common
Have common sense and stick to the point.
pursue
You must not pursue a success, but fly from it.
lovely self-pity get-up
It was such a lovely day I thought it a pity to get up.
dignity bondage policemen
Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.
life night men
I was a stray acquaintance whom he had never seem before and would never see again, a wandered for a moment through his monotonous life, and some starved impulse left him to lay bare his soul. I have in this way learned more about men in a night than I could if I had known them for 10 years. If you are interested in human nature, it is one of the greatest pleasures of travel.
life believe men
Man has always sacrificed truth to his vanity, comfort and advantage. He lives not by truth but by make-believe.
inspirational teaching learning
The trouble is that thinking looks like loafing. Who wants to pay people for daydreaming?
life pain men
The life force is vigorous. The delight that accompanies it counter-balances all the pains and hardships that confront men. It makes life worth living.
government may needs
It must be that to govern a nation you need a specific talent and that this may very well exist without general ability.