Public opinion polls are rather like children in a garden, digging things up all the time to see how they're growing.

Quote by J B Priestley

Topics: J B Priestley Quotes

Perhaps it would be better not to be a writer, but if you must, then...

Perhaps it would be better not to be a writer, but if you must, then...

If we openly declare what is wrong with us, what is our deepest need, then...

If we openly declare what is wrong with us, what is our deepest need, then...

To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.

To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven.

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event....

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event....

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try,...

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try,...

To show a child what once delighted you, to find the child's delight added to...

To show a child what once delighted you, to find the child's delight added to...

A novelist who writes nothing for 10 years finds his reputation rising. Because I keep...

A novelist who writes nothing for 10 years finds his reputation rising. Because I keep...

I never read the life of any important person without discovering that he knew more...

I never read the life of any important person without discovering that he knew more...

Britain, which in the years immediately before this war was rapidly losing such democratic virtues...

Britain, which in the years immediately before this war was rapidly losing such democratic virtues...

Western man is schizophrenic.

Western man is schizophrenic.

Be yourself is about the worst advice you can give to some people.

Be yourself is about the worst advice you can give to some people.

The greatest writers of this age... are aware of the mystery of our existence.

The greatest writers of this age... are aware of the mystery of our existence.

There are plenty of clever young writers. But there is too much genius, not enough...

There are plenty of clever young writers. But there is too much genius, not enough...

Our trouble is that we drink too much tea. I see in this the slow...

Our trouble is that we drink too much tea. I see in this the slow...

Comedy, we may say, is society protecting itself - with a smile.

Comedy, we may say, is society protecting itself - with a smile.

She was a handsome woman of forty-five and would remain so for many years.

She was a handsome woman of forty-five and would remain so for many years.

If you are a genius, you'll make your own rules, but if not - and...

If you are a genius, you'll make your own rules, but if not - and...

The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.

The more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.

We should like to have some towering geniuses, to reveal us to ourselves in colour...

We should like to have some towering geniuses, to reveal us to ourselves in colour...

I know only two words of American slang, 'swell' and 'lousy'. I think 'swell' is...

I know only two words of American slang, 'swell' and 'lousy'. I think 'swell' is...