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I 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
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I Do Not Think

W. Somerset Maugham
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I Do Not Think You Want Too Much Sincerity In Society. It Would Be Like An Iron Girder In A House Of Cards.

Understanding the Quote: "i do not think you want too much sincerity in society. it..."

This quote by W. Somerset Maugham reflects deeply on the theme of thinking. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Thinking, House Of Cards, Iron, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how W. Somerset Maugham interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham is celebrated for insightful thoughts on thinking and house of cards. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Thinking
House Of Cards
Iron
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The Officers Saluted As She Passed And Gravely Bowed. They Walked Back Across The Courtyard And Got Into Their Chairs. She Saw Waddington Light A Cigarette. A Little Smoke Lost In The Air, That Was The Life Of A Man.
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You Know, When One's In Love,' I Said, 'and Things Go All Wrong, One's Terribly Unhappy And One Thinks One Won't Ever Get Over It. But You'll Be Astounded To Learn What The Sea Will Do.' What Do You Mean?' She Smiled. Well, Love Isn't A Good Sailor And It Languishes On A Sea Voyage. You'll Be Surprised When You Have The Atlantic Between You And Larry To Find How Slight The Pang Is That Before You Sailed Seemed Intolerable.
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Thinking
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Depth
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Sacrifice
Men
The Last Words He Said To Me When I Bade Him Good-night Were: Tell Amy It's No Good Coming After Me. Anyhow, I Shall Change My Hotel, So She Wouldn't Be Able To Find Me.' My Own Impression Is That She's Well Rid Of You,' I Said. My Dear Fellow, I Only Hope You'll Be Able To Make Her See It. But Women Are Very Unintelligent.
Good Night
Amy
Able
The Humour Of Dostoievsky Is The Humour Of A Barloafer Who Ties A Kettle To A Dog's Tail.
Dog
Ties
Tails
Heaven Knows What Pains The Author Has Been At, What Bitter Experience He Has Endured And What Heartache Suffered, To Give Some Chance Reader A Few Hours' Relaxation Or To While Away The Tedium Of A Journey.
Pain
Writing
Journey
The Ability To Quote Is A Serviceable Substitute For Wit.
Inspirational
Funny
Science
There Are Men Whose Sense Of Humour Is So Ill Developed That They Still Bear A Grudge Against Copernicus Because He Dethroned Them From The Central Position In The Universe. They Feel It A Personal Affront That They Can No Longer Consider Themselves The Pivot Upon Which Turns The Whole Of Created Things.
Men
Copernicus
Bears
You Are Not Angry With People When You Laugh At Them. Humour Teaches Tolerance, And The Humorist, With A Smile And Perhaps A Sigh, Is More Likely To Shrug His Shoulders Than To Condemn.
People
Laughing
Tolerance
Now It Is A Funny Thing About Life. If You Refuse To Accept Anything But The Best, You Very Often Get It. If You Utterly Decline To Make Do With What You Can Get, Then Somehow Or Other, You Are Very Likely To Get What You Want.
Determination
Funny Things
Want
Music-hall Songs Provide The Dull With Wit, Just As Proverbs Provide Them With Wisdom.
Song
Dull
Wit
A Good Style Should Show No Signs Of Effort. What Is Written Should Seem A Happy Accident.
Writing
Effort
Style
The Tragedy Of Love Is Not Death Or Separation. How Long Do You Think It Would Have Been Before One Or Other Of Them Ceased To Care? Oh, It Is Dreadfully Bitter To Look At A Woman Whom You Have Loved With All Your Heart And Soul, So That You Felt You Could Not Bear To Let Her Out Of Your Sight, And Realize That You Would Not Mind If You Never Saw Her Again. The Tragedy Of Love Is Indifference.
Heart
Thinking
Love Is
I Can Only Guess That It Made The World He Went Back To...strangely Without Meaning. Though He Lived In It, Though He Even Enjoyed It, It Remained Utterly Remote. I Think It Had Lost Sense For Him. In His Heart Was The Reflection Of A Lovely Dream That He Could Never Quite Recall.
Change
Dream
Memories
The Great American Novel Has Not Only Already Been Written, It Has Already Been Rejected.
Funny
Book
Reading
Perfection Has One Grave Defect: It Is Apt To Be Dull.
Humility
Perfection
Dull
A Bird In The Hand Was Worth Two In The Bush, He Told Her, To Which She Retorted That A Proverb Was The Last Refuge Of The Mentally Destitute.
Hands
Two
Bird
I Never Met An Author Who Admitted That People Did Not Buy His Book Because It Was Dull.
Book
Reading
People
The Great Man Is Too Often All Of A Piece; It Is The Little Man That Is A Bundle Of Contradictory Elements. He Is Inexhaustible. You Never Come To The End Of The Surprises He Has In Store For You.
Greatness
Men
Pieces
When A Man's In Love, He At Once Makes A Pedestal Of The Ten Commandments And Stands On The Top Of Them With His Arms Akimbo. When A Woman's In Love She Doesn't Care Two Straws For Thou Shalt And Thou Shalt Not.
Men
Two
Pedestal
When Married People Don't Get On They Can Separate, But If They're Not Married It's Impossible. It's A Tie That Only Death Can Sever.
Friendship
Ties
People
The Life Force Is Vigorous. The Delight That Accompanies It Counter-balances All The Pains And Hardships That Confront Men. It Makes Life Worth Living.
Life
Pain
Men
It's A Funny Thing About Life; If You Refuse To Accept Anything But The Best, You Very Often Get It.
Inspirational
Funny
Life
Art, If It Is To Be Reckoned As One Of The Great Values Of Life, Must Teach Man Humility, Tolerance, Wisdom And Magnanimity. The Value Of Art Is Not Beauty, But Right Action.
Art
Humility
Men
The Dead Look So Terribly Dead When They're Dead.
Looks
Sentimentality Is The Only Sentiment That Rubs You The Wrong Way.
Way
Sentimental
Sentiments
When You Choose Your Friends, Don't Be Short-changed By Choosing Personality Over Character.
Inspirational
Friendship
Children
A Novelist Must Preserve A Childlike Belief In The Importance Of Things Which Common Sense Considers Of No Great Consequence.
Common Sense
Novelists
Belief
The Secret Of Play-writing Can Be Given In Two Maxims: Stick To The Point, And, Whenever You Can, Cut.
Writing
Cutting
Play
As The Cosmos Are In Place, So Be It With Your Life.
Life
Cosmos
A Unitarian Very Earnestly Disbelieves What Everyone Else Believes.
Believe
Religion
Unitarian
We Are Not The Same Persons This Year As Last; Nor Are Those We Love. It Is A Happy Chance If We, Changing, Continue To Love A Changed Person.
Love
Life
Change
It Is One Of The Defects Of My Character That I Cannot Altogether Dislike Anyone Who Makes Me Laugh.
Character
Laughing
Make Me Laugh
She Had No Mercy. He Looked At Her Neck And Thought How He Would Like To Jab It With The Knife He Had For His Muffin. He Knew Enough Anatomy To Make Pretty Certain Of Getting The Carotid Artery. And At The Same Time He Wanted To Cover Her Pale, Thin Face With Kisses.
Kissing
Knives
Muffins
It's Asking A Great Deal That Things Should Appeal To Your Reason As Well As Your Sense Of The Aesthetic. - Of Human Bondage
Asking
Reason
Human Bondage
Why Did You Look At The Sunset?' Philip Answered With His Mouth Full: Because I Was Happy.
Sunset
Looks
Mouths
Words Have Weight, Sound And Appearance; It Is Only By Considering These That You Can Write A Sentence That Is Good To Look At And Good To Listen To.
Writing
Sound
Looks
Women Are Strange Little Beasts,' He Said To Dr. Coutras. 'you Can Treat Them Like Dogs, You Can Beat Them Till Your Arm Aches, And Still They Love You.' He Shrugged His Shoulders. 'of Course, It Is One Of The Most Absurd Illusions Of Christianity That They Have Souls.
Dog
Love You
Soul
How Can I Be Reasonable? To Me Our Love Was Everything And You Were My Whole Life. It Is Not Very Pleasant To Realize That To You It Was Only An Episode.
Break Up
Broken Heart
Breakup
The First Duty Of A Woman Is To Be Pretty, The Second Is To Be Well-groomed, And The Third Is Never To Contradict.
Women
Firsts
Duty
Reserve Is An Artificial Quality That Is Developed In Most Of Us But As The Result Of Innumerable Rebuffs.
Character
Personality
Quality
I Always Find It More Difficult To Say The Things I Mean Than The Things I Don't.
Mean
Difficult
From Old Habit, Unconsciously He Thanked God That He No Longer Believed In Him.
Old Habits
Habit
Human Bondage
I Wonder How Anyone Can Have The Face To Condemn Others When He Reflects Upon His Own Thoughts.
Faces
Wonder
Wit
It Must Be A Fault In Me That I Am Not Gravely Shocked At The Sins Of Others Unless They Personally Affect Me.
Faults
Sin
Shocked
There Are Directors Who Desire To Be Artistic. It Is Pathetic To Compare The Seriousness Of Their Aim With The Absurdity Of Their Attainment.
Desire
Directors
Artistic
It Has Amazed Me That The Most Incongruous Traits Should Exist In The Same Person And, For All That, Yield A Plausible Harmony.
Character
Yield
Harmony
The Mathematician Who After Seeing Phedre Asked: 'qu'est Que Ca Prouve?' Was Not Such A Fool As He Has Been Generally Made Out. No One Has Ever Been Able To Explain Why The Doric Temple Of Paestum Is More Beautiful Than A Glass Of Cold Beer Except By Bringing In Considerations That Have Nothing To Do With Beauty.
Funny
Beauty
Beautiful
I'd Sooner Be Smashed Into A Mangled Pulp By A Bus When We Cross The Street Than Look Forward To A Life Like Yours.
Looks
Crosses
Bus
I Don't Know Why It Is That The Religious Never Ascribe Common Sense To God.
Religious
Common Sense
Common
A Dictator Must Fool All The People All The Time And There's Only One Way To Do That, He Must Also Fool Himself.
People
Atheism
Way
The Writer Is More Concerned To Know Than To Judge.
Writing
Judging
Concerned
The Artist Can Within Limits Make What He Likes Of His Life... It Is Only The Artist, And Maybe The Criminal, Who Can Make His Own.
Artist
Atheism
Criminals
It Is Not True That Suffering Ennobles The Character; Happiness Does That Sometimes, But Suffering For The Most Part, Makes Men Petty And Vindictive.
Inspirational
Life
Character
In Hollywood, The Women Are All Peaches. It Makes One Long For An Apple Occasionally.
Apples
Long
Hollywood
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