If only the bird with the loveliest song sang, the forest would be a lonely place.

If only the bird with the loveliest song sang, the forest would be a lonely place.

I discover that my friends think only of my apparel, and those upon whom I have conferred acts of kindness prefer to remind me of my errors.

The worse my drawings were, the more beautiful did the originals appear.

I looked long and carefully at the picture of a stag painted by Landseer - the style was good, and the brush was handled with fine effect, but he fails in copying Nature, without which the best work will be a failure.

The best recommendation I can have is my own talents, and the fruits of my own labors, and what others will not do for me, I will try and do for myself.

Never give up listening to the sounds of birds.