One has to do good in order for it to exist in the world.

The poor man wishes to conceal his poverty, and the rich man his wealth: the former fears lest he be despised, the latter lest he be plundered.

What you wish to do you are apt to think you ought to do.

Even virtue is an art; and even its devotees are divided into those who practise it and those who are merely amateurs.

How happy are the pessimists! What joy is theirs when they have proved there is no joy.

Never strive, O artist, to create what you are not irresistibly impelled to create!

We ask the poet: 'What subject have you chosen?' instead of: 'What subject has chosen you?