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 on art
Those of us who were brought up as Christians and have lost our faith have retained the sense of sin without the saving belief in redemption. This poisons our thought and so paralyses us in action. Cyril Connolly on faith
Classical and romantic: private language of a family quarrel, a dead dispute over the distribution of emphasis between man and nature. Cyril Connolly on family
Hate is the consequence of fear we fear something before we hate it a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise. Cyril Connolly on fear
Greed, like the love of comfort, is a kind of fear. Cyril Connolly on fear
The dread of lonliness is greater than the fear of bondage, so we get married. Cyril Connolly on fear
There are many who dare not kill themselves for fear of what the neighbours will say. Cyril Connolly on fear
As repressed sadists are supposed to become policemen or butchers so those with an irrational fear of life become publishers. Cyril Connolly on fear
The worst vice of the solitary is the worship of his food. Cyril Connolly on food
The true index of a man's character is the health of his wife. Cyril Connolly on health
Words today are like the shells and rope of seaweed which a child brings home glistening from the beach and which in an hour have lost their luster. Cyril Connolly on home
Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination, where they meet, in the myth. Cyril Connolly on imagination
We love but once, for once only are we perfectly equipped for loving. Cyril Connolly on love
The true index of a man's character is the health of his wife. Cyril Connolly on marriage
No city should be too large for a man to walk out of in a morning. Cyril Connolly on morning
It is only in the country that we can get to know a person or a book. Cyril Connolly on nature
Classical and romantic: private language of a family quarrel, a dead dispute over the distribution of emphasis between man and nature. Cyril Connolly on romantic
Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination, where they meet, in the myth. Cyril Connolly on science
The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence, to be always calm to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore. Cyril Connolly on success
In the sex war, thoughtlessness is the weapon of the male, vindictiveness of the female. Cyril Connolly on war