Quotes by Cyril Connolly

“In the sex war, thoughtlessness is the weapon of the male, vindictiveness of the female.”

“The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.”

“The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore.”

“There is no pain equal to that which two lovers can inflict on one another. This should be made clear to all who contemplate such a union. The avoidance of this pain is the beginning of wisdom, for it is strong enough to contaminate the rest of our lives.”

“A womans desire for revenge outlasts all her other emotions”

“While thought exists, words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living”

“The dread of loneliness is greater than the fear of bondage, so we get married.”

“Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise.”

“The friendships which last are those wherein each friend respects the others dignity to the point of not really wanting anything from him”

“There is no fury like a woman searching for a new lover”

“The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unable to give it up.”

“All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others.”

“A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he starts out, have condemned himself to second-rate thoughts, and to second-rate friends”

“Youth is a period of missed opportunities.”

“Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils”

“We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want to be happy”

“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once”

“A life based on reason will always require to be balanced by an occasional bout of violent and irrational emotion, for instinctual drives must be satisfied”

“It is the fear of middle-age in the young, of old-age in the middle-aged, which is the prime cause of infidelity, that infallible rejuvenator”

“Greed, like the love of comfort, is a kind of fear.”