Georg C. Lichtenberg Art Quotations

There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. ... It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus , one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth ... into a liar that I call an achievement.

One of the greatest creations of the human mind is the art of reviewing books without having read them.

Never undertake anything unless you have the heart to ask Heaven's blessing on your undertaking.

The most entertaining surface on earth is the human face.

Some people feel with their heads and think with their hearts.

One should never trust a person who, while assuring you of something, puts his hands on his heart.

Never trust a man who lays his hand on his heart when he assures you of anything.

As I take up my pen I feel myself so full, so equal to my subject, and see my book so clearly before me in embryo, I would almost like to try to say it all in a single word.

Man is always partial and is quite right to be. Even impartiality is partial.

Perhaps pure reason without heart would never have thought of God.

The celebrated painter Gainsborough got as much pleasure from seeing violins as from hearing them.