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“Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life’s ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved.” — W. Somerset Maugham

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This looks more like literary criticism than a matter of the language used, and may be closed. What aspects of the grammar or vocabulary, exactly, do you have difficulty with? –  Barrie England Dec 12 '12 at 12:01
I don't understand it's meaning actually! –  Shakiba r.abadi Dec 12 '12 at 12:45
A greater irony than Maugham's assertion that "[perfection] is better not quite achieved" is that to know this for a fact required Maugham to be perfect as well as conscious of his perfection, regardless of how brief that perfection was. He's merely being a cetacean expelling seawater from his cerebral blowhole. –  user21497 Dec 12 '12 at 13:22
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up vote 3 down vote accepted

The quote is saying that even though people strive to be perfect, actually being perfect is not interesting. The irony is that the pursuit of perfection does not imply that achieving perfection is the goal.

For me, this rings similar to Emerson's quote: "Life is a journey, not a destination."

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