What a man does not understand, he does not possess.

The best way to understand a painting is by drawing it.

At bottom, no real object is unpoetical, if the poet knows how to use it properly.

Every situation--nay, every moment--is of infinite worth; for it is the representative of a whole eternity.

No two people see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will often apply the same principle, recognized by both, differently. Even one and the same person won't always maintain the same views and judgments: earlier convictions must give way to later ones.

Is it not enough that we cannot make one another happy, must we also rob one another of the pleasures that any heart may permit itself now and then? And name me a person who in a bad mood will be decent enough to hide it, to bear it alone, without destroying the joy around him. Is it not rather an inner dissatisfaction with our own unworthiness, a dislike of ourselves that is always associated with envy aggravated by foolish conceit? We see people happy and not made happy by us, and that is unbearable.

We amuse ourselves painting our prison-walls with bright figures and brilliant landscapes.