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

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

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...

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

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

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

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

Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not...

Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not...

When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time...

When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time...

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...

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

Silence moves faster when it's going backward.

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...

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...

Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not...

Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not...

The Louvre is a morgue; you go there to identify your friends.

The Louvre is a morgue; you go there to identify your friends.

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

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.

There are too many souls of wood not to love those wooden characters who do...

There are too many souls of wood not to love those wooden characters who do...

Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death....

Everything one does in life, even love, occurs in an express train racing toward death....

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

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

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

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...

One should forgive one's enemies, but not before they are hanged

One should forgive one's enemies, but not before they are hanged

A half-truth is a whole lie

A half-truth is a whole lie