When one looks back over human existence however, it is very evident that all culture has developed through an initial resistance against adaptation to the reality in which man finds himself.

The creator does not create only for the pleasure of creating but . . . he also desires to subdue other minds.

The artist always has been and still is a being somewhat apart from the rest of humanity.

There is one great and universal wish of mankind expressed in all religions, in all art and philosophy, and in all human life: the wish to pass beyond himself as he now is.

The amount which cannot be harnessed and domesticated, but insists on its own form of activity rather than one which is offered ready made, is the energy used for the creation of art.

. . . woman is a being dominated by the creative urge and . . . no understanding of her as an individual can be gained unless the significance and effects of that great fact can be grasped.

Life was for living, so why as I wasting?

We nurture our own being by respecting all people and consciously working to mitigate the pain of the world.

Take the risk! You find the right road!

Few people even scratch the surface, much less exhaust the contemplation of their own experience.

Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself with words. Wash yourself away. Dissolve.

The only country that hasn't liked my music is my own.

To be premature is to be perfect

God, the Great Giver, can open the whole universe to our gaze in the narrow space of a single land.

The secret of charm is bullshit.

I think it's unfortunate to have critics for friends.