# Quote — Saki, The Complete Short Stories

> [...] the art of life was the avoidance of the unattainable.

- Author: [Saki](https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki.md)
- Book: [The Complete Short Stories](https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki/the-complete-short-stories.md)
- Character: Reginald
- Chapter: Reginald — Reginald on the Academy
- Page: 11
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki/the-complete-short-stories/the-art-of-life-was-the-avoidance

## More from this book

> [...] be surrounded by Americans trying to talk French? No, thank you. I love Americans, but not when they try to talk French. What a blessing it is that they never try to talk English.

The Chronicles of Clovis · p. 44303 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki/the-complete-short-stories/be-surrounded-by-americans.md)

> [...] cats, [...] wonderful creatures which have assimilated themselves so marvellously with our civilization while retaining all their highly developed feral instincts.

spoken by Mr. Appin · The Chronicles of Clovis · Tobermory · p. 109 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki/the-complete-short-stories/cats-wonderful-creatures-which-have-assimilated.md)

> [...] the Duchess declared I shouldn't write anything nasty in her book, and I said I shouldn't write anything in her nasty book, so there wasn't a very wide point of difference between us.

Reginald · Reginald's Rubaiyat · p. 37 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/saki/the-complete-short-stories/the-duchess-declared-i-shouldnt-write-anything.md)