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
One can be very much in love with a woman without wishing to spend the rest of one's life with her.
Interpretation
What this quote means
You can love someone deeply without wanting a lifelong commitment.
This quote by W. Somerset Maugham highlights the complexity of love, suggesting that deep emotional connections do not necessarily imply a desire for a permanent relationship or shared future. It emphasizes the idea that love can be experienced in various forms, some transient and others enduring, illustrating the distinctions between romantic affection and the commitment of a lifelong partnership.
Themes
LoveRelationshipCommitmentEmotionAffection
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding toast, one might reflect on the complexities of love and relationships.
More from W. Somerset Maugham
All quotes βCronshaw 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.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
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.
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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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