Cyril Connolly Quotes & Sayings

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

“Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium.”

“We love but once, for once only are we perfectly equipped for loving.”

“The true index of a man's character is the health of his wife.”

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

“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.”

“Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.”

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

“Those of us who were brought up as Christians and have lost our faith have retained the sense of sin without the saving belief in redemption. This poisons our thought and so paralyses us in action.”