William Shenstone Quotes

Intellect is a fire; rash and pitiless it melts this wonderful bone-house which is called man. Genius even, as it is the greatestgood, is the greatest harm.

Genius declares itself to be a kind of higher masculinity.

Taste is the common sense of genius.

Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together.

Genius, with all its pride in its own strength, is but a dependent quality, and cannot put forth its whole powers nor claim all its honors without an amount of aid from the talents and labors of others which it is difficult to calculate.

Men of genius are like eagles, they live on what they kill, while men of talents are like crows, they live on what has been killed for them.

Beauty and Genius must be kept afar if one would avoid becoming their slave.

Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.

Talent is a tenant in the house owned by genius.

Society develops wit, but its contemplation alone forms genius.

Genius is intellect constructive.

Genius lasts longer than beauty

There has never been any great genius without a spice of madness.

Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.

If geniuses can sometimes make mistakes, cannot the rest of us on occasion be geniuses?

Humor is one of the elements of genius--admirable as an adjunct; but as soon as it becomes dominant, only a surrogate for genius.

In the faculty of writing nonsense, stupidity is no match for genius.

Everything great and intelligent is in the minority

There is a fine line between insanity and genius.

Such is the vastness of his genius that he can outwit even himself.

I will write a book one day about how I feel about every aspect of Emily Stone. She's a full genius. She has found her genius and is giving it all so fully and beautifully. I think everyone who works with her, brushes shoulders with her, or even makes eye contact with her, gets a shot of sunshine.

You don't find geniuses in street musicians, but that doesn't mean to say you can't be really good.

Genius has no youth, but starts with the ripeness of age and old experience.

Genius has no taste for weaving sand.