“The excellence of every Art is its intensity.”

“The excellency of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeable evaporate.”

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.”

“D'Artagnan, my friend, thou art brave, thou art prudent, thou hast excellent qualities, but- women will destroy thee!" -D'Artagnan”

“Nature and art: The material and the workmanship. There is no beauty unaided, no excellence that does not sink to the barbarous, unless saved by art: It redeems the bad and perfects the good. Because nature commonly forsakes us at her best, take refuge in art. The best in nature is raw without art, and the excellent is lacking if it lacks culture. Without cultivation everyone is a clown and needs polish, fine attributes notwithstanding.”

“No art, however minor, demands less than total dedication if you want to excel in it.”