He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.

Painting is concerned with the ten things you can see: these are darkness and brightness, substance and color, form and place, remoteness and nearness, movement and rest.

When you look at a wall spotted with stains...you may discover a resemblance to various landscapes, beautiful with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees. Or again, you may see battles and figures in action, or strange faces and costumes, and an endless variety of objects which you could reduce to complete and well-drawn figures.

The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things.

When counting, try not to mix chickens with blessings.

Weight is caused by one element being situated in another; and it moves by the shortest line towards its centre, not by its own choice, not because the centre draws it to itself, but because the other intervening element cannot withstand it.

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.