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
We find things beautiful because we recognize them and contrariwise we find things beautiful because their novelty surprises us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Beauty is perceived in familiar things as well as in the surprise of new experiences.
This quote by W. Somerset Maugham suggests that our appreciation of beauty is twofold: we find beauty in things we recognize and understand, which gives us comfort and familiarity, while we also thrill to the beauty of novel experiences that astound and surprise us. Together, these aspects of beauty enrich our lives and shape our perceptions.
Themes
BeautyNoveltyRecognitionPerceptionArt
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of art in our lives.
More from W. Somerset Maugham
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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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