Jean Cocteau

Jean Cocteau

Poet, Novelist, Playwright

Jean Cocteau was a French poet, playwright, and filmmaker known for his innovative works that blend art and emotion, particularly in 'Les Enfants Terribles.'

Art Reality Men Poetry Lying Mirrors
Born
July 5, 1889
Died
October 11, 1963
Quotes
215
Rank
#144

Quote collection

Jean Cocteau quotes (page 7 of 11)

215 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"One must be a living man and a posthumous artist."

Art Artist Men
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"The ability to laugh heartily is the sign of a healthy soul."

Laughing Healthy Soul
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Not only should you not accept a prize. You should not try to deserve one either."

Trying Accepting Should
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Whatever the public blames you for, cultivate it; it is yourself."

Gay Lgbt Blame
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"I feel myself inhabited by a force or being -- very little known to me. It gives the orders; I follow."

Order Giving Littles
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Everyone's pet is the most outstanding. This begets mutual blindness."

Animal Pet Outstanding
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"And now I have to confess the unpardonable and the scandalous. I am a happy man. And I am going to tell you the secret of my happiness. It is quite simple. I love mankind. I love love. I hate hate. I try to understand and accept."

Hate Simple Men
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say them."

Ugly Things Virtue
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"The art of genius is knowing how far out is too far."

Art Knowing Genius
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"History is a combination of reality and lies. The reality of History becomes a lie. The unreality of the fable becomes the truth."

Lying Reality Fables
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Statues to great men are made of the stones thrown at them in their lifetime."

Men Stones Lifetime
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"Catastrophe, riots, factories blowing up, armies in flight, flood - the ear can detect a whole apocalypse in the starry night of the human body."

Army Night Ears
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"After you have written a thing and you reread it, there is always the temptation to fix it up, to improve it, to remove its poison, blunt its sting."

Writing Temptation Poison
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"It is excruciating to be an unbeliever with a spirit that is deeply religious."

Religious Spirit Unbelievers
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Mirrors should reflect a little before throwing back images."

Funny Humor Mirrors
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"Elegance ceases to exist when it is noticed."

Elegance Cease
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"It was the East that should have sent us missionaries."

Should Have East Should
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"The runner stopped dead, lost his balance, froze in one of those violent attitudes in which the photographers petrify living reality."

Attitude Reality Balance
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Jean Cocteau Poet, Novelist, Playwright
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"A picture is not a window...an abstract refers to no reality but its own."

Reality Window Abstract
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