Never judge a work of art by its defects.

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.

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

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

It is a hard matter for a man to lie all over, nature having provided king's evidence in almost every member. The hand will sometimes act as a vane, to show which way the wind blows, even when every feature is set the other way; the knees smite together and sound the alarm of fear under a fierce countenance; the legs shake with anger when all above us calm.

Never judge a work of art by its defects.

Selfishness in art, as in other things, is sensibility kept at home.