A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

I have lost my seven best friends, which is to say God has had mercy...

I have lost my seven best friends, which is to say God has had mercy...

The extreme limit of wisdom, that's what the public calls madness.

The extreme limit of wisdom, that's what the public calls madness.

Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his...

Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his...

Tact in audacity is knowing how far you can go without going too far.

Tact in audacity is knowing how far you can go without going too far.

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

A good upbringing consists in hiding how much you think of yourself, and how little...

A good upbringing consists in hiding how much you think of yourself, and how little...

Whatever the public blames you for, cultivate it; it is yourself.

Whatever the public blames you for, cultivate it; it is yourself.

Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward...

Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward...

Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other...

Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other...

In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.

In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.

There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say...

There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say...

Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious.

Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious.

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order.

The greatest masterpiece in literature is only a dictionary out of order.

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you don't...

I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you don't...

One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With...

One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With...

I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.

I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.

An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.

An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.

Poetry is indispensable - if I only knew what for.

Poetry is indispensable - if I only knew what for.