Cyril Connolly Quotes

Imprisoned in every fat man, a thin one is wildly signalling to be let out. Cyril Connolly

Life is a maze in which we take the wrong turning before we have learned to walk. Cyril Connolly

The true index of a man’s character is the health of his wife. Cyril Connolly

Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once. Cyril Connolly

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

The one way to get thin is to re-establish a purpose in life. Cyril Connolly

Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. Cyril Connolly

We must select the illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want to be happy. Cyril Connolly

Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium. Cyril Connolly

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

The goal of every culture is to decay through over-civilization; the factors of decadence – luxury, scepticism, weariness and superstition – are constant. The civilization of one epoch becomes the manure of the next. Cyril Connolly

Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of life. Cyril Connolly

The boredom of Sunday afternoon, which drove de Quincey to drink laudanum, also gave birth to surrealism: hours propitious for making bombs. Cyril Connolly

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