Quotes

The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question.

I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book.

It would be better for you, young man, not to write. Writing is what brought you to jail. Had you been illiterate, you might today be a decent, honest man and perhaps a respected citizen, but as it is you drag yourself from jail to jail like a gambler.

First you torment yourself until you write it, then you torment the editor to print it… then the public prosecutor to charge you and, finally, the judge to sentence you.

The first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him.

The mind of a master does not stop on any one thing, even for an instant.

Act without letting your mind be captured by thinking about every move.

Do nothing which is of no use.

A thousand days of training is called forging; ten thousand days of training is called tempering.

A good name does not arise from nothing, nor does praise grow by itself.

He whose word is not reliable will not see his deeds bear fruit.

Spend on what benefits the people, and avoid any expense that brings them no benefit.