A vi'let on the meadow grew, That no one saw, that no one knew, It was a modest flower. A shepherdess pass'd by that way-- Light footed, pretty and so gay; That way she came, Softly warbling forth her lay.

The eye doesn't see any shapes, it sees only what is differentiated through light and dark or through colors.

Distrust those in whom the desire to punish is strong.

Man's highest merit always is, as much as possible, to rule external circumstances and as little as possible to let himself be ruled by them.

Cursed Mammon be, when he with treasures To restless action spurs our fate! Cursed when for soft, indulgent leisures, He lays for us the pillows straight.

One must be something, in order to do something.

A genuine work of art usually displeases at first sight, as it suggests a deficiency in the spectator.