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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the profound connections and insights about human nature that can occur in fleeting encounters during travel.
In this quote, W. Somerset Maugham reflects on the unique and often revealing nature of transient relationships we form while traveling. He suggests that even brief interactions with strangers can offer deep insights into human character and experience, often surpassing what one might learn over a longer period of familiarity. This perspective underscores the value of travel not merely as a physical journey but as an exploration of the complexities of human nature.
Themes
TravelHuman NatureConnectionInsightExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the benefits of travel, one might quote Maugham to illustrate how brief encounters can provide valuable life lessons.
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.
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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.
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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.
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