The love of gain never made a painter; but it has marred many.

The painter who is content with the praise of the world for what does not satisfy himself, is not an artist, but an artisan; for though his reward be only praise, his pay is that of a mechanic.

Never expect justice from a vain man; if he has the negative magnanimity not to disparage you, it is the most you can expect.

The most intangible, and therefore the worst, kind of a lie is a half truth. This is the peculiar device of a conscientious detractor.

Never judge a work of art by its defects.

Desert being the essential condition of praise, there can be no reality in the one without the other.

Fame has no necessary conjunction with praise; it may exist without the breath of a word: it is a recognition of excellence which must be felt, but need not be spoken. Even the envious must feel it: feel it, and hate in silence.