William Somerset Maugham

There is no silence in the East.

But who can fathom the subtleties of the human heart? Certainly not those who expect from it only decorous sentiments and normal emotions.

It's very hard to be a gentleman and a writer.

There is a sort of man who pays no attention to his good actions, but is tormented by his bad ones. This is the type that most often writes about himself.

It's no good trying to keep up old friendships. It's painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it.

...we learn resignation not by our own suffering, but by the suffering of others.

Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history.

Men are always the same. Fear makes them cruel.

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.

The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes...

I would sooner read a time-table or a catalogue than nothing at all. ... They are much more entertaining than half the novels that are written.

Mandalay has its name; the falling cadence of the lovely word has gathered about itself the chiaroscuro of romance.