The value of culture is its effect on character. It avails nothing unless it ennobles and strengthens that. Its use is for life. Its aim is not beauty but goodness.
W. Somerset MaughamPerhaps it would have been possible to see in him a new Prometheus...the hero who for the good of mankind exposes himself to the agonies of the damned...undaunted by failure, by an unceasing effort of courage holding despair at bay, doggedly persistent in the face of self-doubt, which is the artist's bitterest enemy.
W. Somerset MaughamFailure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.
W. Somerset MaughamI do not think you want too much sincerity in society. It would be like an iron girder in a house of cards.
W. Somerset Maugham