The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill.

Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature and the error is ineradicable.

The crown of literature is poetry.

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind.

You know what the critics are. If you tell the truth they only say you're cynical and it does an author no good to get a reputation for cynicism.