The whole secret of the study of nature lies in learning how to use one's eyes.

And I refused to make any sacrifices; for nothing on earth seemed more valuable than my peace of mind, my pleasure and my acclaim.

Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true, the beautiful in art.

There are no more thorough prudes than those who have some little secret to hide.

Ever since time began the world has seemed stupid to those who aren't stupid themselves. It was to avoid that annoyance that I became stupid myself, as fast as ever I could. Sheer egoism, no doubt.

Faith is an excitement and an enthusiasm: it is a condition of intellectual magnificence to which we must cling as to a treasure, and not squander on our way through life in the small coin of empty words, or in exact and priggish argument.

You don't have to write to me if you don't feel like it. There's no real friendship without absolute freedom.