Il teatro di Noël Coward vol. 1

«The classic illusion that success automatically turns an ordinary human being into a monster of egotism, in my case, has fallen apart. I’ve never been presumptuous, arrogant, rude or offensive to waiters. People often call me “good” and “incredibly human”. Both definitions, however, despite being gratifyingly superficial, turn out, on closer inspection, to be quite silly. Most of the time, presumption is the outward manifestation of an inner sense of inferiority. Fools often show themselves to be presumptuous because they are unconsciously afraid of being discovered and fear that a perceptive glance will penetrate their facade and reveal the timid confusion that is hidden there. Generally speaking, the most pompous people I have ever met are those who have never achieved anything in life. I am neither stupid nor frightened, and my perception of my importance to the world is relatively poor; however, my perception of my importance to myself is terrible: I am all I have, and I am the one with whom I must work, act, suffer, and rejoice. It is not the gaze of others that I distrust, it is mine, and I do not wish to disappoint myself more than necessary. As a result, I have discovered that the less illusions I have about myself and the world around me, the better company I can be for myself».

(Noël Coward)

edited by Annamaria Martinolli (The book is in Italian language)