Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

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.

After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.

After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.

The poet never asks for admiration; he wants to be believed.

The poet never asks for admiration; he wants to be believed.

If a hermit lives in a state of ecstasy, his lack of comfort becomes the...

If a hermit lives in a state of ecstasy, his lack of comfort becomes the...

Asking an artist to talk about his work is like asking a plant to discuss...

Asking an artist to talk about his work is like asking a plant to discuss...

What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.

What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.

You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it...

You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it...

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those...

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those...

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?

A film is a petrified fountain of thought.

A film is a petrified fountain of thought.

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.

You can't expect to be a lucky dog if you spend all your time growling

You can't expect to be a lucky dog if you spend all your time growling

An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order...

An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order...

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...

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...

There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This...

There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This...

I am a lie who always speaks the truth.

I am a lie who always speaks the truth.

Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death...

Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death...

Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the...

Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the...

Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but...

Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried; it is but...