The two terrors that discourage creativity and creative living are fear of public opinion and undue reverence for one's own consistency.

The goitre of egotism is so frequent among notable persons, that we must infer some strong necessity in nature which it subserves;such as we see in the sexual attraction.

He is only rich who owns the day. There is no king, rich man, fairy, or demon who possesses such power as that.

Women see through Claude Lorraines.

A man of genius is privileged only as far as he is genius. His dullness is as insupportable as any other dullness.

Men are born to write. The gardener saves every slip, and seed, and peach-stone: his vocation is to be a planter of plants. Not less does the writer attend his affair. Whatever he beholds or experiences, comes to him as a model, and sits for its picture. He counts it all nonsense that they say, that some things are undescribable. He believes that all that can be thought can be written, first or last; and he would report the Holy Ghost, or attempt it.

All promise outruns performance.