Genius is eternal patience. The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course. A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. Beauty is the purgation of superfluities. Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come. I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all. If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all. If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the hand of the same master. |