“Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.”

“A gifted noble people; a people of wild strong feelings, and of iron restraint over these: the characteristic of noble-mindedness, of genius.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

“There are those whose purpose in writing is, by means of the noble qualities of heart which their imagination invents or which they themselves may have, to seek the plaudits of other human beings. For my part, I use my genius to depict the delights of cruelty: delights which are not transitory or artificial; but which began with man and will end with him. Cannot genius be allied with cruelty in the secret resolutions of Providence? Or can one, being cruel, not have genius?”

Comte de Lautréamont book Les Chants de Maldoror

“The genius may appear selfish, but most of his intentions are always innocent and pure.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“We also remember the brilliant flight of the American super-genius Paul Morphy, who in a couple of years (1857-59) conquered both the New and the Old Worlds. He revealed a thunderous blend of pragmatism, aggression and accurate calculation to the world -- qualities that enabled America to accomplish a powerful spurt in the second half of the 19th century.”

Paul Morphy (1837–1884) American chess player

“What a quality of innocence people have when they don't expect to be harmed.”

Hanif Kureishi (1954) English playwright, screenwriter, novelist

“Genius is an exceedingly common human quality, probably natural to most of us.”

John Taylor Gatto (1935–2018) American teacher, book author

“Love brings to light a lover's noble and hidden qualities-his rare and exceptional traits: it is thus liable to be deceptive of his normal qualities.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist

“One of the astounding qualities of that family was their capacity to fill innocent bystanders with thoughts of murder.”

Tom Baker (1934) English actor

“The more noble and powerful a creature is, the more willingly it submits to the truth. Indeed it is powerful and noble precisely because of its submission.”

Guigo I (1083–1136) Cartusian monk