Irving Stone Quotes

“There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.”

Source: Lust for Life

“You cannot be the good all the time — sometimes it is necessary to get angry.
[Vincent Van Gogh]”

Source: Clarence Darrow for the Defense

“One should not become an artist because he can, but because he must. It is only for those who would be miserable without it.”

Source: Lust for Life

“Talent is cheap; dedication is expensive. It will cost you your life.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy

“We… believe that art is religious, because it is one of man's highest aspirations. There is no such thing as pagan art, only good and bad art.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy

“There's no love without pain.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo

Irving Stone Quotes about love

“It's so easy to love. The only hard thing is to be loved.
[Vincent Van Gogh]”

Source: Lust for Life

“He had always loved God. In his darkest hours he cried out, "God did not create us to abandon us.”

Source: Lust for Life

“To try to understand another human being, to grapple for his ultimate depths, that is the most dangerous of human endeavors.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Irving Stone Quotes

“How difficult it is to be simple.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy

“It's freezing up here. What did you use to keep warm?"
"Indignation," said Michelangelo. "Best fuel I know. Never burns out.”

Source: Lust for Life

“Art is amoral; so is life. For me there are no obscene pictures or books; there are only poorly conceived and poorly executed ones.”

Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy

“Loneliness is a kind of prison.
[Vincent Van Gogh]”

Source: Lust for Life

“Each of us has his own alphabet with which to create poetry.”

Source: Lust for Life

“He had been standing still; for an artist, one of the more painful forms of death.”

“You cannot be firmly certain about anything. You can only have enough courage and strength to do what you consider to be right. Maybe it turns out that was wrong, but still you would have done his, and it is most important.”

“[They say I imagine — it is not true — I remember. ]”

Source: Lust for Life

“I do not know a better cure for mental illness than a book.”

Source: Lust for Life

“Reading has always been the largest and most irreplaceable pleasure for Vincent; reading about other people's successes and failures, joys and sufferings seemed to bury his own failures.”

Source: Lust for Life

“[Knowing how to suffer without complaining is the only practical thing, it's the great science, the lesson to learn, the solution to the problem of life. ]”

Source: Lust for Life