Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins. – Gustave Flaubert
Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. – Gustave Flaubert
An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere. – Gustave Flaubert
The only way to avoid being unhappy is to close yourself up in Art and to count for nothing all the rest. – Gustave Flaubert
He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter…. In winter the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity. – John Burroughs, “The Snow-Walkers,” 1866