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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that people often talk without taking meaningful actions, implying that actions speak louder than words.
W. Somerset Maugham's quote reflects on the folly of human behavior, pointing out that while people may chat delightfully, their actions often lack substance. He implies that the world could be improved if individuals prioritized doing meaningful work over engaging in superficial conversation, emphasizing the importance of action over idle talk in creating positive change.
Themes
ActionWordsTalkBehaviorChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about productivity, one might quote Maugham to emphasize taking action.
More from W. Somerset Maugham
All quotes →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.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
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.
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I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
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The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willing avoids the sight of distress.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
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.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
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