Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

The fact is, that civilization requires slaves. Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture and contemplation become almost impossible.

Who am I to tamper with a masterpiece?

The work of art is to dominate the spectator: the spectator is not to dominate the work of art.

If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.

They are always asking a writer why he does not write like somebody else, or a painter why he does not paint like somebody else, quite oblivious of the fact that if either of them did anything of the kind he would cease to be an artist.

It's either the wallpaper or me. One of us has to go. [These were his dying words.]