Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I would be today. Happiness is like smallpox: if you catch it too soon, it can completely ruin your constitution. Gustave Flaubert on age
I have the handicap of being born with a special language to which I alone have the key. Gustave Flaubert on alone
Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. Gustave Flaubert on art
The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. Gustave Flaubert on art
Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness nothing but faith, faith and freedom. Gustave Flaubert on art
You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the harm that is spoken of it. Gustave Flaubert on art
There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art, you could almost establish it as an axiom that the subject is irrelevant, style itself being an absolute manner of seeing things. Gustave Flaubert on art
The only way to avoid being unhappy is to close yourself up in Art and to count for nothing all the rest. Gustave Flaubert on art
The cult of art gives pride one never has too much of it. Gustave Flaubert on art
The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. Gustave Flaubert on communication
A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies. Gustave Flaubert on death
The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet. Gustave Flaubert on diet
Life must be a constant education one must learn everything, from speaking to dying. Gustave Flaubert on education
Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness nothing but faith, faith and freedom. Gustave Flaubert on faith
The true poet for me is a priest. As soon as he dons the cassock, he must leave his family. Gustave Flaubert on family
Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness nothing but faith, faith and freedom. Gustave Flaubert on freedom
The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments. Gustave Flaubert on future
The future is the worst thing about the present. Gustave Flaubert on future
The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible and all-powerful one must sense him everywhere but never see him. Gustave Flaubert on god