Over the years I have discovered that ideas come through an intense desire for them; continually desiring, the mind becomes a watchtower on the lookout for incidents that may excite the imagination.
Charlie ChaplinI hope we shall abolish war and settle all differences at the conference table I hope we shall abolish all hydrogen and atom bombs before they abolish us first.
Charlie ChaplinI do not wish to lose my temper because very shortly I will lose my head. Nevertheless, upon leaving this spark of earthly existence, I have this to say: I shall see you all very soon ... very soon.
Charlie ChaplinLife laughs at you when you are unhappy; Life smiles at you when you are happy; But life salutes you when you make other happy.
Charlie ChaplinHair is vitally personal to children. They weep vigorously when it is cut for the first time; no matter how it grows, bushy, straight or curly, they feel they are being shorn of a part of their personality.
Charlie ChaplinThe saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury. [and therefore not appreciate it fully or be grateful for it every moment.]
Charlie ChaplinIn this book I do not intend to give a blow-by-blow description of a sex bout: I find them inartistic, clinical and unpoetic. The circumstances that lead up to sex I find more interesting.
Charlie ChaplinLife is a play that does not allow testing. So, sing, cry, dance, laugh and live intensely, before the curtain closes and the piece ends with no applause.
Charlie ChaplinIn the work of the greatest geniuses, humble beginnings will reveal themselves somewhere, but one cannot trace the slightest sign of them in Shakespeare ... I am not concerned with who wrote the works of Shakespeare ... but I can hardly think it was the Stratford boy. Whoever wrote them had an aristocratic attitude.
Charlie ChaplinWe must laugh in the face of our helplessness against the forces of nature, or go insane.
Charlie ChaplinTo help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune.
Charlie ChaplinI should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful.
Charlie ChaplinI don't think the real America is in New York or on the Pacific Coast; personally, I like the Middle West much better, places like North and South Dakota, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. There, I think, are the true Americans
Charlie ChaplinThe very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all.
Charlie ChaplinI've arrived at the age where a platonic friendship can be sustained on the highest moral plane.
Charlie ChaplinIn Philadelphia, I inadvertently came upon an edition of Robert Ingersoll's Essays and Lectures. This was an exciting discovery; his atheism confirmed my own belief that the horrific cruelty of the Old Testament was degrading to the human spirit.
Charlie ChaplinLife is a beautiful, magnificent thing, even to a jellyfish... The trouble is you won't fight. You've given in, continually dwelling on sickness and death. But there's something just as inevitable as death, and that's life. Life, life, life. Think of all the power that's in the universe, moving the earth, growing the trees. That's the same power within you if you only have courage and the will to use it.
Charlie ChaplinPerfect love is the most beautiful of all frustrations because it is more than one can express.
Charlie ChaplinI went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can't help it. It's the truth.
Charlie ChaplinLife can be wonderful if you're not afraid of it. All it takes is courage, imagination ... and a little dough
Charlie ChaplinMy pain may be the reason for somebody's laugh. But my laugh must never be the reason for somebody's pain.
Charlie ChaplinWe think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
Charlie ChaplinThe cinema is little more than a fad. It's canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage.
Charlie ChaplinAs I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it 'maturity'.
Charlie ChaplinIn this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
Charlie ChaplinIn the creation of comedy, it is paradoxical that tragedy stimulates the spirit of ridicule; because ridicule, I suppose is an attitude of defiance: we must laugh in the face of our helplessness against the forces of nature - or go insane
Charlie Chaplin