Quotes from Cyril Connolly

A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he starts out, have condemned himself to second-rate thoughts, and to second-rate friends

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate; a child who fears noises becomes the man who hates them.

A life based on reason will always require to be balanced by an occasional bout of violent and irrational emotion, for instinctual drives must be satisfied

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

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

The headmistress was an able instructress in French and history and we learned with her as fast as fear could teach us.

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

It is the fear of middle-age in the young, of old-age in the middle-aged, which is the prime cause of infidelity, that infallible rejuvenator.

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

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

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