Who wants to do good in this world must deny oneself. A man does not live on this Earth to be happy or to be honest only - he has to do great things for humanity, achieve the generosity of the spirit and rise above the banality where most of the people are drowning and wasting their days.
Irving StoneWe...believe that art is religious, because it is one of man's highest aspirations. There is no such thing as pagan art, only good and bad art.
Irving StoneMorality is similar to religion - it is a somniferous drug which blinds people from seeing the squalor of their lives.
Irving StoneOne should not become an artist because he can, but because he must. It is only for those who would be miserable without it.
Irving StoneI spend several years trying to get inside the brain and heart of my subjects, listening to the interior monologues in their letters, and when I have to bridge the chasms between the factual evidence, I try to make an intuitive leap through the eyes and motivation of the person I'm writing about.
Irving Stone