Every scene, even the commonest, is wonderful, if only one can detach oneself, casting off all memory of use and custom, and behold it (as it were) for the first time; in its right, authentic colors; without making comparisons. Cherish and burnish this faculty of seeing crudely, simply, artlessly, ignorantly; of seeing like a baby or a lunatic, who lives each moment by itself and tarnishes by the present no remembrance of the past.

Most people sleep themselves stupid.

Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like.

Time is the explicable raw material of everything.

A true friend is one who likes you despite your achievements.

Always behave as if nothing had happened, no matter what has happened.

It is well, when judging a friend, to remember that he is judging you with the same godlike and superior impartiality.