Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.

Quote by Gustave Flaubert

Topics: Gustave Flaubert Quotes

As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no...

As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no...

I am a man-pen. I feel through the pen, because of the pen.

I am a man-pen. I feel through the pen, because of the pen.

Poetry is as precise a thing as geometry.

Poetry is as precise a thing as geometry.

My kingdom is as wide as the universe and my wants have no limits. I...

My kingdom is as wide as the universe and my wants have no limits. I...

Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance...

Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance...

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

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

Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living.

Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living.

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...

I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been...

I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been...

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.

Success is a result, not a goal

Success is a result, not a goal

What is the beautiful, if not the impossible.

What is the beautiful, if not the impossible.

One can be the master of what one does, but never of what one feels.

One can be the master of what one does, but never of what one feels.

One must always hope when one is desperate, and doubt when one hopes.

One must always hope when one is desperate, and doubt when one hopes.

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

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

The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.

The more humanity advances, the more it is degraded.

Of all the icy blasts that blow on love, a request for money is the...

Of all the icy blasts that blow on love, a request for money is the...

Exuberance is better than taste.

Exuberance is better than taste.

The true poet for me is a priest. As soon as he dons the cassock,...

The true poet for me is a priest. As soon as he dons the cassock,...

I love my work with a frenetic and perverse love, as an ascetic loves the...

I love my work with a frenetic and perverse love, as an ascetic loves the...