Somerset Maugham: Money Puppet

W. Somerset Maugham Money Quote saying that money is the controlling string destiny of puppets. W. Somerset Maugham said:
 

“Money is the string with which a sardonic destiny directs the motions of its puppets” — W. Somerset Maugham

In this quote, W. Somerset Maugham is suggesting that money plays a powerful role in controlling or directing people’s lives and decisions.

Specifically, he portrays destiny or fate as a “sardonic” or bitterly mocking force that manipulates people like puppets on strings. However, instead of using literal strings, Maugham says this destiny uses “money” as the means by which it maneuvers and guides people’s “motions” or actions.

Overall, the best interpretation is that Maugham saw money as a hidden but influential force that could cause even free-willed individuals to dance to another’s tune, similar to how puppets are compelled to move by the strings attached to them. He presents a cynical view of wealth as the invisible thread by which outside circumstances can pull life’s puppeteers.

Birthday: January 25, 1874 – Death: December 16, 1965

W. Somerset Maugham on Freedom vs. Comfort

W. Somerset Maugham Money Quotation saying The cost of freedom is vigilance, so loving comforts of wealth more than the freedom that makes them possible can be fatal to Freedom. W. Somerset Maugham said:
 

 

“If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too” — W. Somerset Maugham

This quote from W. Somerset Maugham is a warning about the dangers of valuing comfort and material wealth over freedom. If a nation prioritizes these things above freedom and civil liberties, it is suggesting it will lose both its freedom and the very comfort/money it holds so dear.

The irony Maugham refers to is that in striving so single-mindedly for comfort and economic gain, a nation opens itself to the loss of freedom – and ultimately the loss of the comfort/money too, since free societies that respect individual rights tend to be most prosperous in the long run.

Overall it’s a message about the importance of balance and of not sacrificing more important principles like liberty in the pursuit of transient goals like comfort and wealth. Prioritizing freedom allows a nation to best achieve and maintain other goals too.

Birthday: January 25, 1874 – Death: December 16, 1965

Somerset Maugham: Value of Money

W. Somerset Maugham Money Quotation saying cash allows for time savings by paying to eliminate or shorten unwanted, slow or tedious tasks. W. Somerset Maugham said:
 

 

“Perhaps the most important use of money – It saves time. Life is so short, and there’s so much to do, one can’t afford to waste a minute” — W. Somerset Maugham

In this quote, author W. Somerset Maugham is expressing the value of money in terms of the time it can save a person. By stating that money can “save time” and that “life is so short, and there’s so much to do”, Maugham suggests that wealth allows people to pay others to do tasks for them rather than spending their own limited time on chores or errands. With money, important activities don’t have to be delayed or put off due to time constraints.

Maugham implies that money effectively buys people more time to devote to meaningful pursuits, relationships or work by outsourcing responsibilities. He emphasizes that time is one of our most precious commodities, so money helps us make the most of life by avoiding wasting even a single minute unnecessarily.

Birthday: January 25, 1874 – Death December 16, 1965