“The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, the finish by loading honors on your head.”
Society
“The day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.”
DeathAll Quotes by Jean Cocteau
“Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live.”
Death“An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.”
Art“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?”
Success“Poetry is indispensable - if I only knew what for.”
Poetry“The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.”
Poetry“Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not obtained by sentimental blackmail.”
Art“The extreme limit of wisdom, that's what the public calls madness.”
Wisdom“The day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.”
Death“After the writer's death, reading his journal is like receiving a long letter.”
Death“You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it like bees working in a glass hive.”
Death“Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.”
Death“Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.”
Art“I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.”
Sad“A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener scent his roses.”
Poetry“Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.”
Art“The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.”
Art“The actual tragedies of life bear no relation to one's preconceived ideas. In the event, one is always bewildered by their simplicity, their grandeur of design, and by that element of the bizarre which seems inherent in them.”
Design“A film is a petrified fountain of thought.”
Movies“Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.”
Art