You should look at certain walls stained with damp, or at stones of uneven color. If you have to invent some backgrounds you will be able to see in these the likeness of divine landscapes, adorned with mountains, ruins, rocks, woods, great plains, hills and valleys in great variety; and expressions of faces and clothes and an infinity of things which you will be able to reduce to their complete and proper forms. In such walls the same thing happens as in the sound of bells, in whose stroke you may find every named word which you can imagine.

The body of the earth is of the nature of a fish... because it draws water as its breath instead of air.

Of the original phenomena, light is the most enthralling.

A luminous body will appear more brilliant in proportion as it is surrounded by deeper shadow.

A clever man without wisdom is like a beautiful flower without fragrance.

O Time with your teethy years! You swallow up all things little by little in a slow-motion, wrinkling process of dying.

Make an effort to collect the good features from many beautiful faces.