True realism consists in revealing the surprising things which habit keeps covered and prevents us from seeing.

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

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...

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.

Mystery has its own mysteries, and there are gods above gods. We have ours, they...

Mystery has its own mysteries, and there are gods above gods. We have ours, they...

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...

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 am a lie who always speaks the truth.

I am a lie who always speaks the truth.

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

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...

The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood.

The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood.

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so...

The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so...

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...

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

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

Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying...

Children and lunatics cut the Gordian knot which the poet spends his life patiently trying...

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...

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its...

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its...

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...

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...

The Irish don't know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death...

The Irish don't know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death...

I had seen birth and death but had thought they were different.

I had seen birth and death but had thought they were different.