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
When you're eighteen your emotions are violent, but they're not durable.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the intensity and fleeting nature of emotions experienced at the age of eighteen.
W. Somerset Maugham observes that the emotions of an eighteen-year-old are often intense and passionate, yet these feelings are not long-lasting. This suggests that youthful exuberance can lead to overwhelming emotional experiences, but with time, those feelings may dissipate, highlighting the transient nature of youthful passion and the maturation process that comes with age.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the emotional development of teenagers.
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.
Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.
After the pain of this disappointment her heart once more stood empty, and the succession of identical days began again.
Life has been some combination of fairy-tale coincidence and joie de vivre and shocks of beauty together with some hurtful self-questioning.
To me, life is like the back nine in golf. Sometimes you play better on the back nine. You may not be stronger, but hopefully you're wiser. And if you keep most of your marbles intact, you can add a note of wisdom to the coming generation.
The simple life on the farm was everything to me. Nothing was more relaxing after a long plane flight than to reach the winding driveway that led up to my house. The quiet of the night was more soothing than a sleeping pill.
I have spent my life going from mania to mania. Somehow it has all paid off.
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