A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating.

The past could always be annihilated. Regret, denial, or forgetfulness could do that. But the future was inevitable.

Taking sides is the beginning of sincerity, and earnestness follows shortly afterwards, and the human being becomes a bore.

A glass of absinthe is as poetical as anything in the world. What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?

If a man needs an elaborate tombstone in order to remain in the memory of his country, it is clear that his living at all was an act of absolute superfluity.

A man who does not think for himself does not think at all. It is grossly selfish to require of one's neighbour that he should think in the same way, and hold the same opinions. Why should he? If he can think, he will probably think differently. If he cannot think, it is monstrous to require thought of any kind from him.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.