All one's inventions are true, you can be sure of that. Poetry is as exact a science as geometry.

Quote by Gustave Flaubert

Topics: Gustave Flaubert Quotes

Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.

Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.

The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but...

The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but...

The deplorable mania of doubt exhausts me. I doubt about everything, even my doubts.

The deplorable mania of doubt exhausts me. I doubt about everything, even my doubts.

The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet.

The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet.

There is no truth. There is only perception.

There is no truth. There is only perception.

I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with...

I believe that if one always looked at the skies, one would end up with...

One mustn't always believe that feeling is everything. In the arts, it is nothing without...

One mustn't always believe that feeling is everything. In the arts, it is nothing without...

There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art,...

There are neither good nor bad subjects. From the point of view of pure Art,...

Madame Bovary is myself.

Madame Bovary is myself.

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if...

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if...

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears...

Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears...

One arrives at style only with atrocious effort, with fanatical and devoted stubbornness.

One arrives at style only with atrocious effort, with fanatical and devoted stubbornness.

Stupidity is something unshakable; nothing attacks it without breaking itself against it; it is of...

Stupidity is something unshakable; nothing attacks it without breaking itself against it; it is of...

Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that. Poetry is as...

Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that. Poetry is as...

Of all lies, art is the least untrue.

Of all lies, art is the least untrue.

You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and...

You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and...

Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much...

Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much...

Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that. Poetry is as...

Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that. Poetry is as...

Of all possible debauches, traveling is the greatest that I know; that's the one they...

Of all possible debauches, traveling is the greatest that I know; that's the one they...

Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given...

Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given...