Skip to content

Air Quote by W. Somerset Maugham

“The ballet. I saw in the fugitive beauty of a dancer's gesture a symbol of life. It was achieved at the cost of unending effort but, with all the forces of gravity against it, a fleeting poise in mid-air, a lovely attitude worthy to be made immortal in a bas-relief, it was lost as soon as it was…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham
Download Open image
“The ballet. I saw in the fugitive beauty of a dancer's gesture a symbol of life. It was achieved at the cost of unending effort but, with all the forces of gravity against it, a fleeting poise in mid-air, a lovely attitude worthy to be made immortal in a bas-relief, it was lost as soon as it was gained and there remained no more than the memory of an exquisite emotion. So life, lived variously and largely, becomes a work of art only when brought to its beautiful conclusion and is reduced to nothingness in the moment when it arrives at perfection.”

W. Somerset Maugham

4.4 out of 5 (10 ratings)

More by W. Somerset Maugham

Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes

More Air quotes

Browse all 6,278 Air quotes