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.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
In business sharp practice sometimes succeeds, but in art honesty is not only the best but the only policy.
Interpretation
In art, being honest is essential, unlike in business where sometimes unethical methods can yield success.
This quote emphasizes the importance of integrity in the realm of art, contrasting it with the sometimes lenient ethical standards in business. Maugham asserts that while dubious tactics may lead to short-term victories in commerce, true artistry must be rooted in honesty and authenticity to maintain its value and significance.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of authenticity in creative fields.
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.
Cronshaw stopped for a moment to drink. He had pondered for twenty years the problem whether he loved liquor because it made him talk or whether he loved conversation because it made him thirsty.
Are you sure you can prevent yourself from falling in love one of these days? Such things do happen, you know, even to the most prudent men.' Simon gave him a strange, one might even have thought a hostile, look. I should tear it out of my heart as I'd wrench out of my mouth a rotten tooth.
I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willing avoids the sight of distress.
There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China. Solitarily, with the indifference of nature herself, it crept up the mountain side and slipped down to the depth of the valley.
At root, a pearl is a 'disturbance' a beauty caused by something that isn't supposed to be there, about which something needs to be done. It is the interruption of equilibrium that creates beauty. Beauty is a response to provocation, to intrusion. ... The pearl's beauty is made as a result of insult.
Singing provides a true sense of lightheartedness. If I sing when I am alone, I feel wonderful. It's freedom.
Being in a band turns you into a child and keeps you there.
For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.
Writing is a consequence of having been 'haunted' by material. Why this is, no one knows.
Woolf wanted to say dangerous things in Orlando but she did not want to say them in the missionary position.
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