Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying to untie. – Jean Cocteau
A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses. – Jean Cocteau
Every poem is a coat of arms. It must be deciphered. How much blood, how many tears in exchange for these axes, these muzzles, these unicorns, these torches, these towers, these martlets, these seedlings of stars and these fields of blue! – Jean Cocteau
I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike? – Jean Cocteau
Life is a horizontal fall. – Jean Cocteau
Silence moves faster when it’s going backward. – Jean Cocteau
It is difficult to live without opium after having known it because it is difficult, after knowing opium, to take earth seriously. And unless one is a saint, it is difficult to live without taking earth seriously. – Jean Cocteau
The prettiest dresses are worn to be taken off. – Jean Cocteau
I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul. – Jean Cocteau
Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live. – Jean Cocteau
Mirrors should think longer before they reflect. – Jean Cocteau
I feel that there is an angel inside me whom I am constantly shocking. – Jean Cocteau
