I would like to make something that is real in itself that does not remind anyone of any other things, and that does not have to be explained like the letter A, for instance.

We cannot express the light in nature because we have not the sun. We can only express the light we have in ourselves.

It is hard for a flat thing to understand a round one.

I look at nature, I see myself. Paintings are mirrors, so is nature.

It is the form the idea takes in the imagination rather than the form as it exists outside.

I should like to take the wind and water and sand as a motif and work with them, but it has to be simplified in most cases to colour and force lines, just as music has done with sound.

Theories have been outgrown. The means is disappearing, the reality of the sensation alone remains. It is that in its essence which I wish to put down. It should be a delightful adventure.

My soul already existed - you just called out to me, and the wind brought me to you.

He holds his hand out for me to see it like he’s cradling something delicate or breakable, an egg or like, his heart.

Those who sacrifice essential liberty for temporary safety are not deserving of either liberty or safety.

Most striking at first is the appearance of sudden illumination, a manifest sign of long unconscious prior work.

When I was young I trained a lot. I trained my mind, I trained my eyes, trained my thinking, how to help people. And it trained me how to deal with pressure.

And I still buy books at B&N, Borders and Elliot Bay ... I probably shouldn't admit this. But I don't care. I love great bookstores.

I hate Illinois Nazis.

Kids aren't born to be bullies, they're taught to be bullies.

In a polite age almost every person becomes a reader, and receives more instruction from the Press than the Pulpit.

Give deliberately. Giving is at its best when it's a conscious effort that's repeatedly made.