Cyril Connolly quote: "The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above."

The dread of lonliness is greater than the fear of bondage, so we get married.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

In the sex-war thoughtlessness is the weapon of the male, vindictiveness of the female.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Our memories are card indexes consulted and then returned in disorder by authorities whom we do not ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Except for poverty, incompatibility, opposition of parents, absence of love on one side and of desir...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

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

The true index of a man's character is the health of his wife.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The past is the only dead thing that smells sweet.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

In America every woman has her set of girl-friends; some are cousins, the rest are gained at school....
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A great writer creates a world of his own and his readers are proud to live in it. A lesser writer m...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The more books we read, the clearer it becomes that the true function of a writer is to produce a ma...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

When writers meet they are truculent, indifferent, or over-polite. Then comes the inevitable moment....
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be read onc...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

I shall christen this style the Mandarin, since it is beloved by literary pundits. It is the style ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The hunt for young authors who, while maintaining a prestige value (with a r
CYRIL CONNOLLY

As repressed sadists are supposed to become policemen or butchers so those with an irrational fear o...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Slums may well be breeding-grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and d...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The only happy talkers are dandies who extract pleasure from the very perishability of their materia...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

When young we are faithful to individuals, when older we grow loyal to situations and to types.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The reward of art is not fame or success but intoxication: that is why so many bad artists are unabl...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Were I to deduce any system from my feelings on leaving Eton, it might be called The Theory of Perma...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

I review novels to make money, because it is easier for a sluggard to write an article a fortnight t...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There cannot be a personal God without a pessimistic religion. As soon as there is a personal God he...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The one way to get thin is to re-establish a purpose in life.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Those of us who were brought up as Christians and have lost our faith have retained the sense of sin...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Like water, we are truest to our nature in repose.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There are many who dare not kill themselves for fear of what the neighbors will say.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Classical and romantic: private language of a family quarrel, a dead dispute over the distribution o...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

No taste is so acquired as that for someone else's quality of mind.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of taste.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of the self.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Civilization is maintained by a very few people in a small number of places and we need only some bo...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Never would it occur to a child that a sheep, a pig, a cow or a chicken was good to eat, while, like...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The English masses are lovable: they are kind, decent, tolerant, practical and not stupid. The trage...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Green leaves on a dead tree is our epitaph -- green leaves, dear reader, on a dead tree.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A mistake which is commonly made about neurotics is to suppose that they are interesting. It is not ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We must select the Illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Imprisoned in every fat man, a thin one is wildly signaling to be let out.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Nothing dates like hate and in literature a little of it goes a very long way.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There is immunity in reading, immunity in formal society, in office routine, in the company of old f...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Greed, like the love of comfort, is a kind of fear.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he set out, will have condemned himself to second-han...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

It is a mistake to expect good work from expatriates for it is not what they do that matters but wha...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Civilization is an active deposit which is formed by the combustion of the present with the past. Ne...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The civilized are those who get more out of life than the uncivilized, and for this we are not likel...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

If our elaborate and dominating bodies are given us to be denied at every turn, if our nature is alw...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination, wher...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The goal of every culture is to decay through over-civilization; the factors of decadence, -- luxury...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

When I contemplate the accumulation of guilt and remorse which, like a garbage-can, I carry through ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We create the world in which we live; if that world becomes unfit for human life; it is because we t...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The person who is master of their passions is reason's slave.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be graspe...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Youth is a period of missed opportunities.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

In the sex war, thoughtlessness is the weapon of the male, vindictiveness of the female.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he starts out, have condemned himself to second-rate ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The friendships which last are those wherein each friend respects the other's dignity to the point o...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There are many who dare not kill themselves for fear of what the neighbours will say.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

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

The worst vice of the solitary is the worship of his food.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becom...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Always be nice to those younger than you, because they are the ones who will be writing about you.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Everything is a dangerous drug except reality, which is unendurable.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of life.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There is no pain equal to that which two lovers can inflict on one another. This should be made clea...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Purity engenders Wisdom, Passion avarice, and Ignorance folly, infatuation and darkness.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle class suburbs are incubators of apathy and d...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A best-seller is the golden touch of mediocre talent.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

As repressed sadists are supposed to become policemen or butchers so those with irrational fear of l...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The civilization of one epoch becomes the manure of the next.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A writer is in danger of allowing his talent to dull who lets more than a year go past without findi...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first call promising.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Our memories are card indexes consulted, and then put back in disorder by authorities whom we do not...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

No one over thirty-five is worth meeting who has not something to teach us, --something more than we...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Words today are like the shells and rope of seaweed which a child brings home glistening from the be...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We love but once, for once only are we perfectly equipped for loving.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Youth is a period of missed opportunities.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

What grape to keep its place in the sun, taught our ancestors to make wine?
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Life is a maze in which we take the wrong turn before we have learnt to walk.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Imprisoned in every fat man a thin man is wildly signaling to be let out.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A life based on reason will always require to be balanced by an occasional bout of violent and irrat...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Imagination equals nostalgia for the past, the absent; it is the liquid solution in which art develo...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

When we have ceased to love the stench of the human animal, either in others or in ourselves, then a...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Doing is overrated, and success undesirable, but the bitterness of failure even more so
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There is no fury like a woman searching for a new lover
CYRIL CONNOLLY

It is the fear of middle-age in the young, of old-age in the middle-aged, which is the prime cause o...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

I review novels to make money, because it is easier for a sluggard to write an article a fortnight t...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped ...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

He could not blow his nose without moralizing on the state of the handkerchief industry
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Art is an absolute mistress; she will not be coquetted with or slighted; she requires the most entir...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

When young we are faithful to individuals, when older we grow more loyal to situations and to types
CYRIL CONNOLLY

A woman's desire for revenge outlasts all her other emotions
CYRIL CONNOLLY

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

Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and d...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The man who is master of his passions is reason's slave
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The greatest problem with women is how to contrive that they should seem our equals
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Most people do not believe in anything very much and our greatest poetry is given to us by those who...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becom...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We are all serving a life-sentence in the dungeon of self
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm to let each wave of life...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Life is a maze in which we take the wrong turn before we have learnt to walk
CYRIL CONNOLLY

It is closing time in the gardens of the West and from now on an artist will be judged only by the r...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The only way for writers to meet is to share a quick peek over a common lamp-post.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There is immunity in reading, immunity in formal society, in office routine, in the company of old f...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

If our elaborate and dominating bodies are given us to be denied at every turn, if our nature is alw...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

There is no more somber enemy of good art than the pram in the hall
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Idleness is only a coarse name for my infinite capacity for living in the present.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The ape-like virtues without which no one can enjoy a public school.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Better to write for yourself and have no public than write for the public and have no self.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

No one over thirty-five is worth meeting who has not something to teach us, - something more than we...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament, and embrace it with passion, if we wan...
CYRIL CONNOLLY

For what is liberty but the unhampered translation of will into act?
CYRIL CONNOLLY

The true index of a man's character is the health of his wife.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book.
CYRIL CONNOLLY

Joy is a subtle elf; I think one's happiest when he forgets himself.
CYRIL TOURNEUR

A free man is a jealous of his responsibilities as he is of his liberties.
CYRIL JAMES

A free man is as jealous of his responsibilities as he is of his liberties.
CYRIL JAMES

To maintain one's individuality, integrity, and true personality in the theatre is a big task.
CYRIL CUSACK

They say 6 million people see you when you act in a film; it may only be 600 in a play. But the effe...
CYRIL CUSACK

The relationship with a live audience seems to me to count for more.
CYRIL CUSACK

Simple stories... emerge as lovely films or television pieces.
CYRIL CUSACK

I was rather a fat little boy.
CYRIL CUSACK

I love the theatre and theatre people.
CYRIL CUSACK

I have tried to explore the little talent I have for writing.
CYRIL CUSACK

Acting is the most brotherly and sisterly profession in the world.
CYRIL CUSACK

Religion promotes the divine discontent within oneself, so that one tries to make oneself a better p...
CYRIL CUSACK

In my younger years my dedication may have expressed itself egotistically.
CYRIL CUSACK

I have been on my own all my life except during those touring days.
CYRIL CUSACK

I am basically a religious man.
CYRIL CUSACK

I am a nationalist... my native soil is the theatre.
CYRIL CUSACK

Theatre has no national identity. It is something for the world, whether it is Irish, English, or Fr...
CYRIL CUSACK

The actor has a constant problem of personal identity.
CYRIL CUSACK

One's performance is often heightened by the brilliance and generosity of other actors.
CYRIL CUSACK

If you asked me for my New Year Resolution, it would be to find out who I am.
CYRIL CUSACK

I shine in tears like the sun in April.
CYRIL TOURNEUR

The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.
CYRIL PARKINSON

Joy is a subtle elf; I think one's happiest when he forgets himself.
CYRIL TOURNEUR

We can appreciate the emotional trauma these families have suffered and we want to be able to say ac...
CYRIL WECHT

Forensic scientists are not policemen. We are scientists. We deal with these matters objectively. We...
CYRIL WECHT

The very exercise of leadership fosters capacity for it.
CYRIL FALLS

This is analogous to what is colloquially known as being punch drunk, ... We believe the microscopic...
CYRIL WECHT

Ethnic Cleansing in New Orleans.
CYRIL NEVILLE

[Prior to the Threadgill's show, Brandi Clark , an event co-organizer and initiative co-founder, vis...
CYRIL NEVILLE

The House of Commons is the longest running farce in the West End.
CYRIL SMITH

Most women have small waists the world throughout, But their desires are a thousand miles about
CYRIL TOURNEUR

What if, under that hypothetical scenario, they called in a dermatologist, an obstetrician and a psy...
CYRIL WECHT

He wasn't a boxer, but that's a general term that we would use to denote changes in the brain of a d...
CYRIL WECHT

The identification process should be complete by next week.
CYRIL WECHT

I shine in tears like the sun in April
CYRIL TOURNEUR

A prose style as sharp and clean as a bleached bone on a beach.
CYRIL DUNN

He was certainly ahead of his times. He loved South Africa and was deeply committed to the empowerme...
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

Somebody said on TV the other night that New Orleans had died. New Orleans was murdered. Neglect and...
CYRIL NEVILLE

We're slightly positive on the bond market for now. A rate move is priced in for June but people hav...
CYRIL BEUZIT

The development of chip and PIN has given people more confidence in unattended payment machines and ...
CYRIL MCGUIRE

A football helmet gives you an awful lot of protection, ... but you don't have to be a doctor or an ...
CYRIL WECHT

I'm not suggesting for one moment that we stop professional football. If I said that, I better leave...
CYRIL WECHT

In a significant number of cases in which the police taser somebody, they would have used a gun if t...
CYRIL WECHT

repeated mild traumatic injury while playing football.
CYRIL WECHT

If this turns to friendship, it only means
That one of us will suffer.

That when we ...
CYRIL WONG

Alone in the Dark is returning to the format that launched survival gaming - the PC - and after near...
CYRIL VOIRON

Driver: Parallel Lines gives players two eras of hard driving in one of the greatest cities on earth...
CYRIL VOIRON

For us it is not a surprise that Jiri is not on our team. We still have a strong team, we play at ho...
CYRIL SUK

We counted on Moya and Ferrero to be here and so the choice of surface was correct. Unfortunately, t...
CYRIL SUK

I think I live in South Austin.
CYRIL NEVILLE

We going to be here, man,
CYRIL NEVILLE

People want to know - do we have a right to live?
CYRIL NEVILLE

With over 15 years of executive management experience, Shaun Gray will bring a wealth of payments in...
CYRIL MCGUIRE

That was a disappointment, but we identified it, resolved it and we're putting it behind us. Our pro...
CYRIL MCGUIRE

There was never an age in which useless knowledge was more important than our own
CYRIL JOAD

The risk is for the ECB to accelerate the pace of interest- rate hikes. There seems to be very littl...
CYRIL BEUZIT

We've seen an accumulation of strong numbers and sentiment at high levels in Europe. When we look at...
CYRIL BEUZIT

Treasuries remain under pressure and only weaker-than-expected data seem likely to reverse the curre...
CYRIL BEUZIT

Five-year Treasuries should continue to attract buyers. We can expect the auction to go well, and th...
CYRIL BEUZIT

We've had an accumulation of hawkish comments from the ECB and the momentum behind the European econ...
CYRIL BEUZIT

The outlook for the bond market is still negative. The European recovery is quite strong and we've h...
CYRIL BEUZIT

In the near term, there is a bit of support for the front end, due to these weaker numbers.
CYRIL BEUZIT

We've seen there's demand for longer-dated securities. The auction will go quite well today.
CYRIL BEUZIT

February looks rather unlikely for the next rate hike, but March is still on the agenda. Yields will...
CYRIL BEUZIT

Leadership is particularly necessary to ensure ready acceptance of the unfamiliar and that which is ...
CYRIL FALLS

So long as large armies go to battle, so long will the air arm remain their spearhead.
CYRIL FALLS

Never trust a man, who when left alone with a tea cosey... Doesn't try it on.
BILLY CONNOLLY

Behind the proscenium arch, you can't always hear what people in the audience are saying.
BILLY CONNOLLY

There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.
BILLY CONNOLLY

I like Dali and Magritte. I also like the Scottish artist John Byrne, another surrealist.
BILLY CONNOLLY

Questions focus our thinking. Ask empowering questions like: What's good about this? What's not perf...
CHARLES CONNOLLY

My favorite personal hockey moment was probably when Mike Bossy scored fifty goals in fifty games. H...
KEVIN CONNOLLY

When did you get so clever?"
"When I realized I wasn't as clever as I thought.
JOHN CONNOLLY

I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people...
JOHN CONNOLLY

Once upon a time – for that is how all stories should begin – there was a boy who lost his mothe...
JOHN CONNOLLY

There's a difference between living and just surviving. Do something you love, and find someone to l...
JOHN CONNOLLY

Just as it is true that a stream cannot rise above its source, so it is true that a national literat...
JAMES CONNOLLY

Tennis can be a grind and there's always the danger of going stale if you think about it too much. Y...
MAUREEN CONNOLLY

The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above.

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Cyril Connolly

The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above.

Cyril Connolly

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