W. Somerset Maugham

An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do.

—W. Somerset Maugham

Men seek but one thing in life - their pleasure.

—W. Somerset Maugham

It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

—W. Somerset Maugham

Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.

—W. Somerset Maugham

D'you call life a bad job? Never! We've had our ups and downs, we've had our struggles, we've always been poor, but it's been worth it, ay, worth it a hundred times I say when I look round at my children.

—W. Somerset Maugham

Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five.

—W. Somerset Maugham

It's a toss-up when you decide to leave the beaten track. Many are called, but few are chosen.

—W. Somerset Maugham

A man ought to work. That's what he's here for. That's how he contributes to the welfare of the community.

—W. Somerset Maugham

When you have loved as she has loved, you grow old beautifully.

—W. Somerset Maugham

It is cruel to discover one's mediocrity only when it is too late.

—W. Somerset Maugham

Charm and nothing but charm at last grows a little tiresome. It's a relief then to deal with a man who isn't quite so delightful but a little more sincere.

—W. Somerset Maugham

The dead look so terribly dead when they're dead.

—W. Somerset Maugham