Reading is equivalent to thinking with someone else's head instead of with one's own.

Genius is its own reward; for the best that one is, one must necessarily be for oneself. . . . Further, genius consists in the working of the free intellect., and as a consequence the productions of genius serve no useful purpose. The work of genius may be music, philosophy, painting, or poetry; it is nothing for use or profit. To be useless and unprofitable is one of the characteristics of genius; it is their patent of nobility.

Each day is a little life: every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame.

Authors may be divided into falling stars, planets, and fixed stars: the first have a momentary effect; the second have a much longer duration; but the third are unchangeable, possess their own light, and work for all time.

If God made the world, I would not be that God, for the misery of the world would break my heart.