Captivating the spirit of the age is a matter of great talent; being swept away by it characterizes an average mind. The two are as different from one another as activity and passivity.

If someone were to think that trees are made to support the sky, they would all seem too short.

There shall be no slave in your home, male or female: Least of all the mother of your son.

Let the will embrace the highest ideals freely and with infinite strength, but let action first take hold of what lies closest.

Bunglers and pedants judge art according to genre; they approve of this and dismiss that genre, but instead of genres, the open-minded connoisseur appreciates only individual works.

The Germans believe that, no matter where, they can get by on knowledge alone. Art, however, requires skill.

Historical! Must it be historical to catch your attention? Even though historicity, like notoriety, denotes nothing more than thatsomething has occurred.