We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?

Quote by Jean Cocteau

Topics: Jean Cocteau Quotes

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...

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.

All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects...

All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects...

The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our...

The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our...

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...

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.

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...

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free....

The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free....

Wealth is an inborn attitude of mind, like poverty. The pauper who has made his...

Wealth is an inborn attitude of mind, like poverty. The pauper who has made his...

Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.

Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.

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...

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.

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...

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

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

Take a commonplace, clean it and polish it, light it so that it produces the...

Take a commonplace, clean it and polish it, light it so that it produces the...

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one's preconceived ideas. In the event,...

The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one's preconceived ideas. In the event,...

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.

Reading is not a duty, and has consequently no business to be made disagreeable.

Reading is not a duty, and has consequently no business to be made disagreeable.

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts,...

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts,...

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is...

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is...