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W. Somerset Maugham Quotes

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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.

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.

W. Somerset Maugham
Change, Enjoy It While It Lasts, Delight
"The Razor's Edge". Book by W. Somerset Maugham, 1944.

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.

W. Somerset Maugham
Love, Life, Change
W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth.

W. Somerset Maugham
Believe, People, Guarantees

It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

W. Somerset Maugham
Inspirational, Funny, Life
The Mixture as Before "The Treasure" (1940)

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.

W. Somerset Maugham
Life, Book, Reading

If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too.

W. Somerset Maugham
Freedom, Patriotic, Libertarian Party
"Strictly Personal" by W. Somerset Maugham, (ch. 31), 1941.

The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.

W. Somerset Maugham
Inspirational, Secret, Life Is

The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We must see the beauty of quietness. We must go through life so inconspicuously that Fate does not notice us. And let us seek the love of simple, ignorant people. Their ignorance is better than all our knowledge. Let us be silent, content in our little corner, meek and gentle like them. That is the wisdom of life.

W. Somerset Maugham
Humble, Ignorance, Fate
W. Somerset Maugham (2013). “The Essential W. Somerset Maugham Collection”, p.1377, eBookIt.com

The most valuable thing I have learned from life is to regret nothing.

W. Somerset Maugham
Wisdom, Regret, Life Is

The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.

W. Somerset Maugham
Education, Book, Reading

Only a mediocre person is always at his best.

W. Somerset Maugham
Inspirational, Life, Failure

The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned.

W. Somerset Maugham
Love, Life, Heartbreak
"A Writer's Notebook" by W. Somerset Maugham, Country Life Press, (p. 13), 1949.

It's no use crying over spilt milk, because all of the forces of the universe were bent on spilling it.

W. Somerset Maugham
Use, Milk, Cry
"Of Human Bondage" by W. Somerset Maugham, (Ch. 68), 1915.

Look after your laundry, and your soul will look after itself.

W. Somerset Maugham
Motivational, Thought Provoking, Soul

It was such a beautiful day I decided to stay in bed.

W. Somerset Maugham
Beautiful, Beautiful Day, Bed

The complete life, the perfect pattern, includes old age as well as youth and maturity. The beauty of the morning and the radiance of noon are good, but it would be a very silly person who drew the curtains and turned on the light in order to shut out the tranquillity of the evening. Old age has its pleasures, which, though different, are not less than the pleasures of youth.

W. Somerset Maugham
Beauty, Morning, Silly
W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.

W. Somerset Maugham
Love, Life, Change
W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

Dullness is the first requisite of a good husband.

W. Somerset Maugham
Husband, Firsts, Good Husband

The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency.

W. Somerset Maugham
Principles, Useful Things, Expediency
Circle (1921) act 3

Tolerance is only another name for indifference.

W. Somerset Maugham
Names, Tolerance, Atheism
W. Somerset Maugham (2011). “A Writer's Notebook”, p.34, Random House

I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.

W. Somerset Maugham
Time, Past, Thinking
W. Somerset Maugham (2012). “The Moon and Sixpence”, p.59, Courier Corporation

The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.

W. Somerset Maugham
Inspirational, Funny, Science

What does democracy come down to? The persuasive power of slogans invented by wily self-seeking politicians.

W. Somerset Maugham
Self, Democracy, Atheism
W. Somerset Maugham (1939). “Christmas Holiday”

Simplicity and naturalness are the truest marks of distinction.

W. Somerset Maugham
Simplicity, Distinction, Mark
W. Somerset Maugham (1954). “Mr. Maugham Himself”

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

W. Somerset Maugham
Writing, Real Talk, Story Writers

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