Marie Beynon Ray? Francis Bacon? Henry David Thoreau? W. Somerset Maugham? Booth Tarkington? Question for Quote Investigator: Our life on Earth does not extend forever. A writer once used two vivid and clashing metaphors to describe this precious moment: Sparkling like a star in our hands and melting like a snowflake This figurative language has …
Category Archives: W. Somerset Maugham
People Ask You for Criticism, But They Only Want Praise
W. Somerset Maugham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Often a request for criticism is really an appeal for approval or accolades. English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham made a similar observation. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1915 W. Somerset Maugham published the popular novel “Of Human Bondage”. The …
Continue reading “People Ask You for Criticism, But They Only Want Praise”
If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing
Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Fifty million people may parrot a false or foolish statement, but that will not metamorphose it into a true or sensible remark. Here are two instances in this family of statements: If fifty million people say …
Continue reading “If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing”
I Have No Doubt You Have a Sufficiently Good Opinion of Yourself To Bear Mine With Equanimity
W. Somerset Maugham? John Colton? Clemence Randolph? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: As a high school student I came across a wonderful zinger spoken to a self-important individual. I cannot recall the exact wording, but it was something like this: I perceive, Sir, you have a sufficiently good opinion of yourself that you can bear mine …
The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable
Lord Chesterfield? Hilaire Belloc? D. H. Lawrence? George Bernard Shaw? Alexander Duffield? W. Somerset Maugham? Elliot Paul? Samuel Hopkins Adams? Benjamin Franklin? P. D. James? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Lord Chesterfield reportedly crafted an outrageously humorous description of intimate relations. I’ve seen different versions that each comment on pleasure, position, and expense. Yet, I …
Continue reading “The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable”
I Only Write When Inspiration Strikes. Fortunately It Strikes at Nine Every Morning
William Faulkner? Peter De Vries? Herman Wouk? W. Somerset Maugham? Jane Yolen? Raymond Chandler? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: As a writer I find the following quotation about motivation both amusing and invigorating: I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning. I have seen these words …
Quotation Is a Serviceable Substitute for Wit
Oscar Wilde? W. Somerset Maugham? George Bernard Shaw? Voltaire? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: I thought you might enjoy the following remark attributed to Oscar Wilde: Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit. I saw this on the goodreads website, but the source of the saying was not listed. Further searching led to the following similar …
Continue reading “Quotation Is a Serviceable Substitute for Wit”
There Are Three Rules for the Writing of a Novel
W. Somerset Maugham? Oscar Wilde? Mark Twain? Bret Harte? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: With the rapid growth of ebooks it seems that everyone is writing a book. Here is the funniest advice I have heard on this topic: There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. Several prominent …
Continue reading “There Are Three Rules for the Writing of a Novel”
It Is Not Enough to Succeed; One’s Best Friend Must Fail
Gore Vidal? La Rochefoucauld? W. Somerset Maugham? Wilfrid Sheed? Iris Murdoch? David Merrick? Genghis Khan? Larry Ellison? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Competition and jealousy are reflected in a family of closely related cynical sayings: It is not enough to succeed; one’s best friend must fail. It is not enough to succeed; one’s friends must fail. …
Continue reading “It Is Not Enough to Succeed; One’s Best Friend Must Fail”
Tennis, Anyone?
Humphrey Bogart? George Bernard Shaw? W. Somerset Maugham? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Before Humphrey Bogart played iconic tough and sophisticated characters he appeared in drawing room comedies on Broadway. Supposedly in his first scene as a young actor he came striding onto the stage swinging a racquet and saying: Tennis anyone? Later this line became …