694 Quotes by Gustave Flaubert

The principal thing in the world is to keep the soul aloft.

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

One's duty is to feel what is great, cherish the beautiful, and to not accept the conventions of society with the ignominy that it imposes upon us.

Writing this book I am like a man playing the piano with lead balls attached to his knuckles.

The better a work is, the more it attracts criticism; it is like the fleas who rush to jump on white linens.

After a person dies, there is always something like a feeling of stupefaction, so difficult is it to comprehend this unexpected advent of nothingness and to resign oneself to believing it.

What is beautiful is moral, that is all there is to it.

My kingdom is as wide as the universe and my wants have no limits. I go forward always, freeing spirits and weighing words, without fear, without compassion, without love, without God. I am called science.

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.