If men could regard the events of their own lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain. РAndr̩ Maurois
The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past. РAndr̩ Maurois
A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own body. РAndr̩ Maurois
Each one of us is alone in the world… We seek pitifully to convey to others the treasures of our heart, but they have not the power to accept them, and so we go lonely, side by side but not together, unable to know our fellows and unknown by them. – W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, 1919
I believe that every English poet should read the English classics, master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them, travel abroad, experience the horror of sordid passion and — if he is lucky enough — know the love of an honest woman. – Robert Graves (1895–1985), lecture at Oxford, quoted in Time, 1961 Decembe