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If men could regard the events of their lives with more open minds, they would frequently discover that they did not really desire the things they failed to obtain.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Living
The longer the road to love, the keener is the pleasure.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
The art of growing old is the art of being regarded by the oncoming generations as a support and not as a stumbling-block.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
He who has found a good wife has found great happiness, but a quarrelsome woman is like a roof that lets in the rain.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
A mixture of admiration and pity is one of the surest recipes for affection.
A great writer has a high respect for values. His essential function is to raise life to the dignity of thought, and this he does by giving it a shape.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Writing
Novelty, the most potent of all attractions, is also the most perishable.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Woman's great strength lies in being late or absent. Presence immediately reveals the weak points of our beloved; when she is absent she become one of the sylph-like figures of our adolescence whom we endowed with perfection.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
There are very few really brilliant men who have not had at least one madman among their ancestors.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
It is not events and the things one sees and enjoys that produce happiness, but a state of mind which can endow events with its own quality, and we must hope for the duration of this state rather than the recurrence of pleasurable events.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Without a family,man,alone in the world, trembles with the cold.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Living
The reading of a fine book is an uninterrupted dialogue in which the book speaks and our soul replies.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
We console ourselves with several friends for not having found one real one.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
One has very little influence upon one's children. Their characters are what they are and one can do nothing to change them.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
A true woman loves a strong man because she knows his weaknesses. She protects as much as she is protected.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
To desire to be perpetually in the society of a pretty woman until the end of one's days, is as if, because one likes good wine, one wished always to have one's mouth full of it.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
To reason with poorly chosen words is like using a pair of scales with inaccurate weights.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game finished, that the stage belongs to the rising generations. The true evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul. Upon crossing the shadow line, it is more the desire to act than the power to do so that is lost. Is it possible, after 50 years of experiences and disappointments, to retain the ardent curiosity of youth, the desire to know and understand, the power to love wholeheartedly, the certainty that beauty, intelligence and kindness unite naturally, and to preserve faith in the efficacy of reason?
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Every ten years you should delete from your mind a few ideas that your experience has proven to be false.
The clear and simple words of common usage are always better than those of erudition. The jargon of the philosophers not seldom conceals an absence of thought.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Writing
Happiness is never there to stay.... Happiness is merely a respite offered by inquietude.
Among the idle rich, boredom is one of the most common causes of unhappiness. People who have difficulty in earning their living may suffer greatly, but they are not bored. Wealthy men and women become bored when they depend upon the theater for their enjoyment instead of making their own lives interesting.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true; everything that is not puts us in a rage.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
Marriage is one thing, and love is another... You need to have a solid canvas; nobody stops you to weave the arabesques.
Time is a factor in all action. An imperfect scheme put into action at the proper time is better than a perfect one accomplished too late.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
I like the War. It is only War that gives us a normal existence. What do you do in peace-time? You stay at home; you don't know what to do with your time; you argue with your parents, and your wife - if you have one. Everyone thinks you are an insufferable egotist - and so you are. The War comes; you only go home every five or six months. You are a hero, and, what women appreciate much more, you are a change. You know stories that have never been published. You've seen strange men and terrible things. Your father, instead of telling his friends that you are embittering the end of his life, introduces you to them as an oracle. These old men consult you on foreign politics. I you are married, your wife is prettier than ever; if you are not, all the girls lay siege to you.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Living
Stupidity is a factor to be reckoned with in human affairs. The true leader always expects to encounter it, and prepares to endure it patiently so long as it is normal stupidity. He knows that his ideas will be distorted, his orders carelessly executed; and that there will be jealousy among his assistants. He takes these inevitable phenomena into account, and instead of attempting to find men without faults, who are non-existent, he tries to make use of the best men at his disposal - as they are, and not as they ought to be.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
An unsatisfied woman requires luxury, but a woman who is in love with a man will lie on a board.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
We owe to the Middle Ages the two worst inventions of humanity - romantic love and gunpowder.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
What men call friendship is only social intercourse, an exchange of favours and good offices; it comes down to a commercial dealing in which self-esteem always expects to profit.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
A great statesman, like a good housekeeper, knows that cleaning has to be done every morning.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
British conversation is like a game of cricket or a boxing match; personal allusions are forbidden like hitting below the belt, and anyone who loses his temper is disqualified.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Silence of Colonel Bramble
Genius consists of equal parts of natural aptitude and hard work.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, A Time for Silence
Only passions can raise a man above the level of the animal.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, The Art of Writing
For intelligent people, action often means escape from thought, but it is a reasonable and a wise escape.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
The reputation of a Don Juan gives to a man the most dangerous power. Wise virgins resist it, but foolish virgins frequently yield to the desire to take a celebrated lover from a rival - even from a friend. This emotion is a complex one, mad up of vanity, respect for another woman's taste, and the need to establish self-assurance by winning a difficult victory. Don Juan chose his first mistresses; later he was chosen.
ANDRÉ MAUROIS, An Art of Living
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