Jean Cocteau

mirror reflect

“Mirrors should think longer before they reflect.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

public criticize cultivate

“What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

self original

“Be yourself. The world worships the original.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

luck success dislike

“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

birth death walk hurry

“The day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

too much enough

“A little too much is just enough for me.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

style simple complicated

"Style is a simple way of saying complicated things."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

poet liar truth

“The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth.”

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

mistake majority truth

"One must not mistake majority for truth."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

specialist specialty delicate finesse

"Never do what a specialist can do better. Discover your own specialty. Do not despair if your specialty appears to be more delicate, a lesser thing. Make up in finesse what you lose in force."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

living horizontal fall

"Living is a horizontal fall."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

french italian people mood France Italy

"French people are Italian people in a bad mood."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

extreme wisdom madness

"The extreme limit of wisdom, that's what the public calls madness."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

joy young disobeu disobedience

"The joy of the young is to disobey."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

art fashion ugly beautiful time

"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."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)

mirror reflect image

"Mirrors should reflect a little before throwing back images."

— Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)