When they asked Michelangelo how he made his statue of David he is reported to have said, "It is easy. You just chip away the stone that doesn't look like David.

If I love in thee, beloved, only what thou lovest most, do not be angry; for so one spirit is enamoured of another.

The hand that follows intellect can achieve.

Beauty depends on purpose. It is in the elements best suited to their purpose or aim that beauty shines forth most strongly.

The best of artists hath no thought to show which the rough stone in its superfluous shell doth not include; to break the marble spell is all the hand that serves the brain can do.

Souls will never ascend to Heaven until the sight of beauty lifts them there.

Trifles make perfection but perfection is not a trifle