As man is, so is his God. And thus is God oft strangely odd.
The artist has a twofold relation to nature; he is at once her master and her slave.
Before you can do something, you must first be something.
A state of affairs which leads to daily vexation is not the right state.
God help us -- for art is long, and life so short.
If you have a great work in your head, nothing else thrives near it; all other thoughts are repelled, and the pleasure of life itself is for the time lost.