Quotes About Simplicity

All that is not useful in a picture is detrimental. A work of art must be harmonious in its entirety; for superfluous details would, in the mind of the beholder, encroach upon the essential elements.

I do not distinguish between the construction of a book and that of a painting and I always proceed from the simple to the complex." - 1946

The art which is grand and yet simple is that which presupposes the greatest elevation both in artist and in public.

Simplicity is the most deceitful mistress that ever betrayed man.

El mundo de hoy está exangüe por la falta de cosas elementales, de fuego ante las manos, de agua manando de la tierra, de aire, de tierra amada bajo los pies. Cuanto más tiempo llevaba allí, más ávido estaba de conocer esta costa y compartir su vida misteriosa y elemental.

Dearest, these household cares remit; And while the sky is blue today, Here in this sunny shelter sit, To list the blackbird's lay.

That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.

They take their pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost little

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.

Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.

Water is the only drink for a wise man.

To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.

Glances of true beauty can be seen in the faces of those who live in true meekness.

I am struck by the simplicity of light in the atmosphere in the autumn, as if the earth absorbed none, and out of this profusion of dazzling light came the autumnal tints.

I am a happy camper so I guess I'm doing something right. Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

Sometimes, in a summer morning, having taken my accustomed bath, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in reverie.

The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.

Oh, one world at a time!

But the place which you have selected for your camp, though never so rough and grim, begins at once to have its attractions, and becomes a very centre of civilization to you: "Home is home, be it never so homely."

There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living.

I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least — and it is commonly more than that — sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.

A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man's life as in a book. Haste makes waste, no less in life than in housekeeping. Keep the time, observe the hours of the universe, not of the cars.

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.