From the moment that photography appeared, the descriptive genre began to invade Letters... In verse as in prose the décor and exterior aspects of life took an almost excessive place.

Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business.

That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false.

In poetry everything which must be said is almost impossible to say well.

All nations have present, or past, or future reasons for thinking themselves incomparable.

The great virtues of the German people have created more evils than idleness ever did vices

[Beauty is] that which makes us despair.