“For the canons of good society are, or should be, the same as the canons of art. Form is absolutely essential to it.”

“Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everybody in good society holds exactly the same opinions.”

“Art creates an incomparable and unique effect, and, having done so, passes on to other things. Nature, upon the other hand, forgetting that that imitation can be made the sincerest form of insult, keeps on repeating this effect until we all become absolutely wearied of it.”

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.”

“From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type.”

“I am quite incapable of understanding how any work of art can be criticized from a moral standpoint. The sphere of art and the sphere of ethics are absolutely distinct and separate.”

“Now art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic.”