“You must make, always. You must act, if you believe something. Talking about acting is like boasting about pictures you're going to paint. The most terrible bad form.”

“You know, that might be the answer – to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail.”

“Why do people want everyone to act just like they do? Talk like they do. Look like they do. Act like they do. And if you don't— If you don't, people make the assumption that you do not FEEL what they feel. And then they make the assumption— That you must not feel anything at all. ”

“In truth, it is the simplest act in the world. The trick works because you wish it to. You must remember the most important rule of and successful illusion; First the people must want to believe it.”

“If you want to get men to act reasonably, you must set about persuading them in a maniacal manner.”

“The ego must be developed, not for its own sake, but because it is needed by society. If you are only interested in self-realisation then you cannot make a good painting. To do this you have to have thought about forming and about how ideas of forming stem from history.”