I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

It is a vulgar error to suppose that America was ever discovered. It was merely detected.

The tragedy of growing old is not that one is old but that one is young.

The form of government that is most suitable to the artist is no government at all. Authority over him and his art is ridiculous.

While one should always study the method of a great artist, one should never imitate his manner. The manner of an artist is essentially individual, the method of an artist is absolutely universal. The first personality, which no one should copy.

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight.

There is something very morbid about modern sympathy with pain.