Victor Hugo Quotes

Genius is the accumulated wealth of our humanity--its most intense development concentrated at one point, and then with clearer expression and with mysterious power shot back to us across the galvanic lines of thought and feeling.

You can do something with talent, but nothing with genius.

A writer writes with his genius; an artist paints with hers; everyone who creates operates from this sacramental center.

Talent is a tenant in the house owned by genius.

A possible link between 'madness' and genius is one of the oldest and most persistent of cultural notions.

Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.

There's nothing wrong with being a genius who can fascinate the young. Rather, there's something wrong with the young who can't be fascinated by a genius.

There is the same difference between talent and genius that there is between a stone mason and a sculptor

genius is original, unique; and in whatever form it may develop itself is the greatest gift that can be given to man, the strongest known link between the material life we have and the spiritual life that we can only guess at. Every great poet, painter, or musician - every inventor or man of science, every fine actor or orator, comes to us as the exponent of something diviner than we know. We cannot understand it, but we feel it, and acknowledge it.

the distinction between talent and genius is definite. Talent combines and uses; genius combines and creates.

Peter had a genius for imitation; but he lacked true genius, which is creative and makes all from nothing.

Talent is that which is in a man's power; genius is that in whose power a man is.

Disciples be damned. It's not interesting. It's only the masters that matter. Those who create.

Of course creativity is a mystery. We don't know what drives it or what constitutes it. It's one of those things, like genius, you know it when you see it but it's impossible to define.

Genius is talent set on fire by courage.

What we call creative work, ought not to be called work at all, because it isn't. I imagine that Thomas Edison never did a day's work in his last fifty years.

Young men and young women, full of courage, originality, and genius, are everywhere to be met with.

Human nature is not amenable to prediction based on the trends or tendencies prevailing at the time. It is amenable to startling creativity of the kind practiced by great artists, directors, writers, musicians, actors, who know how to touch a chord in humans everywhere.

To think, and to feel, constitute the two grand divisions of men of genius - the men of reasoning and the men of imagination.

Taste is the common sense of genius.

Genius is a potential that lives within you and every other human being. You have many moments of genius in your lifetime. These are the times when you have a uniquely brilliant idea and implement it even if only you are aware of how fantastic it is.

Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces.

Genius is initiative on fire.

No one can resist the idea of a crippled genius.

Upper berth, lower berth, that's the difference between talent and genius.