Somerset Maugham, W.

"Love is only the dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species."

"You are not angry with people when you laugh at them. Humour teaches tolerance."

"It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive."

"It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set." - The Moon and Sixpence

"Man has always sacrificed truth to his vanity, comfort and advantage. He lives by make-believe." - The Summing Up, 1938

"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit." - The Summing Up, 1938