And he beholds the moon; like a rounded fragment of ice filled with motionless light. Gustave Flaubert More Quotes by Gustave Flaubert More Quotes From Gustave Flaubert 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 agebirthdaytoday The cult of art gives pride; one never has too much of it. Gustave Flaubert pridegivingart Do not imagine you can exorcise what oppresses you in life by giving vent to it in art. Gustave Flaubert imaginegivingart I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within. Gustave Flaubert funny-lifesoundwriting Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom. Gustave Flaubert politenessliteratureart Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given you. I believe the greatest characteristic of genius, is, above all, force. Gustave Flaubert judgingbelievebook Success is a consequence and must not be a goal. Gustave Flaubert congratulationsgoalsuccess The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft. Gustave Flaubert this-worldsoulworld He dreamed of funeral love, but dreams crumble and the tomb abides Gustave Flaubert tombsfuneraldream She was the amoureuse of all the novels, the heroine of all the plays, the vague “she” of all the poetry books. Gustave Flaubert heroinesplaybook … Her heart remained empty once more, and the procession of days all alike began again. So they were going to follow one another, like this, in line, always identical, innumerable, bringing nothing! Gustave Flaubert emptylinesheart The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel. Gustave Flaubert wadeseawriting One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us. Gustave Flaubert charmlifelooks The denigration of those we love always detaches us from them in some degree. Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers. Gustave Flaubert degreessticksidols I have dreamed much and have done very little. Gustave Flaubert donelittles But some day sooner or later our passion would have cooled - inevitably - it's the way with everything human. Gustave Flaubert sooner-or-laterpassionway He had the vanity to believe men did not like him – while men simply did not know him. Gustave Flaubert vanitymenbelieve That man has missed something who has never left a brothel at sunrise feeling like throwing himself into the river out of pure disgust. Gustave Flaubert drinkingriversmen The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. Gustave Flaubert inspirationallifeart Doubt … is an illness that comes from knowledge and leads to madness. Gustave Flaubert illnessmadnessdoubt
