The appearance of a single great genius is more than equivalent to the birth of a hundred mediocrities.
Unfortunately, goodness and honor are rather the exception than the rule among exceptional men, not to speak of geniuses.
Klopstock was questioned regarding the meaning of a passage in his poem. He replied, 'God and I both knew what it meant once; now God alone knows.'
The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand.
Genius is one of the many forms of insanity.
Good sense travels on the well-worn paths; genius, never. And that is why the crowd, not altogether without reason, is so ready to treat great men as lunatics.
