Judge the goodness of a book by the energy of the punches it has given you. I believe the greatest characteristic of genius, is, above all, force.

Quote by Gustave Flaubert

Topics: Gustave Flaubert Quotes

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...

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...

One mustn't ask apple trees for oranges, France for sun, women for love, life for...

One mustn't ask apple trees for oranges, France for sun, women for love, life for...

I love good sense above all, perhaps because I have none.

I love good sense above all, perhaps because I have none.

A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.

A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.

The cult of art gives pride; one never has too much of it.

The cult of art gives pride; one never has too much of it.

It seems to me that I have always existed and that I possess memories that...

It seems to me that I have always existed and that I possess memories that...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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,...

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...

In the dark room a cloud of yellow dust flew from beneath the tool like...

In the dark room a cloud of yellow dust flew from beneath the tool like...

Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom.

Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom.

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.

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...

Madame Bovary is myself.

Madame Bovary is myself.

But the disparaging of those we love always alienates us from them to some extent....

But the disparaging of those we love always alienates us from them to some extent....

One never tires of what is well written, style is life! It is the very...

One never tires of what is well written, style is life! It is the very...