I love my work with a frenetic and perverse love, as an ascetic loves the hair shirt which scratches his belly.

Quote by Gustave Flaubert

Topics: Gustave Flaubert Quotes

The faster the word sticks to the thought, the more beautiful is the effect.

The faster the word sticks to the thought, the more beautiful is the effect.

A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies.

A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies.

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.

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...

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

What is the beautiful, if not the impossible.

What is the beautiful, if not the impossible.

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...

A memory is a beautiful thing, it's almost a desire that you miss.

A memory is a beautiful thing, it's almost a desire that you miss.

The only way to avoid being unhappy is to close yourself up in Art and...

The only way to avoid being unhappy is to close yourself up in Art and...

The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity...

The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of stupidity...

Happiness is a monstrosity! Punished are those who seek it.

Happiness is a monstrosity! Punished are those who seek it.

She (Madame Bovary) had that indefinable beauty that comes from happiness, enthusiasm, success - a...

She (Madame Bovary) had that indefinable beauty that comes from happiness, enthusiasm, success - a...

Doubtis an illness that comes from knowledge and leads to madness.

Doubtis an illness that comes from knowledge and leads to madness.

One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm...

One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm...

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.

Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I...

Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I...

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...

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,...

The better a work is, the more it attracts criticism; it is like the fleas...

The better a work is, the more it attracts criticism; it is like the fleas...

Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough.

Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough.