There is no thrill of mortal danger to surpass that of a lone man trying to create something that never existed before.

He made his colours, built his stretchers, plastered his canvas, painted his pictures, carpentered his frames, and painted them. 'Too bad I can't buy my own pictures,' he murmured aloud. 'Then I'd be completely self-sufficient.'

Each of us has his own alphabet with which to create poetry.

There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.

The writer ... an athlete required to break the four-minute mile every morning.

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.

There's no love without pain.