Art for art's sake is a philosophy of the well-fed.

Art for art's sake is a philosophy of the well-fed.

As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn't make read more

As for types like my own, obscurely motivated by the conviction that our existence was worthless if we didn't make a turning point of it, we were assigned to the humanities, to poetry, philosophy, painting -- the nursery games of humankind, which had to be left behind when the age of science began. The humanities would be called upon to choose a wallpaper for the crypt, as the end drew near.

I invent nothing, I rediscover.

I invent nothing, I rediscover.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

It is reasonable to have perfection in our eye that we may always advance toward it, though we know it read more

It is reasonable to have perfection in our eye that we may always advance toward it, though we know it can never be reached.

If a man should happen to reach perfection in this world, he would have to die immediately to enjoy himself.

If a man should happen to reach perfection in this world, he would have to die immediately to enjoy himself.

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.

To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.

I think that one of the qualifications of artists should be a vow of celibacy. They should be confined to read more

I think that one of the qualifications of artists should be a vow of celibacy. They should be confined to ruining only their own lives.