"The lion consists of assimilated sheep."

— Paul Valéry

"There is nothing in the critical field that should be of greater philosophical interest or prove more rewarding to analysis than the progressive modification of one mind by the work of another."

— Paul Valéry

"A man is a poet if difficulties inherent in his art provide him with ideas; he is not a poet if they deprive him of ideas."

— Paul Valéry

"Two dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder."

— Paul Valéry

Tom Morris: Interview with a Philosopher: A Way to Have Deep Conversations Online... No, Really →

When Paul Valéry and Michel de Montaigne appear in the same article, I feel compelled to post a link.

"Learn to appreciate as an artist things as simple as the day; sleep; walking and running—a room—an ordinary phrase; to read instinct; to drink, to gaze at oneself or speak to oneself—to see afresh, in other words, what has been seen so often—but in its place."

— Paul Valéry

"The universe is built on a plan the profound symmetry of which is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect."

— Paul Valéry

"Henceforward every action will be re-echoed by many unforeseen interests on all sides; it will produce a chain of immediate events- confused reverberations in a closed space. The effect of effects, which were formerly imperceptible or negligible in relation to the length of a human life and to the radius of action of any human power, are now felt almost instantly at any distance; they return immediately to their causes, and only die away in the unpredictable. The expectations of the predictor are always disappointed, and that in a matter of months or a very few years."

— Paul Valéry, 1931 (via)

"Things rare or things beautiful, here are wisely assembled, they instruct the eye to look at all things in the world as if never seen before."

— Paul Valéry, 1937.  Much to my amazement and delight, this was the opening quote in Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht.

Paul Valéry, whose notebooks inspired the name of this weblog (photo source).

"Learn to appreciate as an artist things as simple as the day; sleep; walking and running - a room - an ordinary phrase; to read an instinct; to drink, to gaze at oneself or speak to oneself - to see afresh, in other words, what has been seen so often - but in its place."

— Paul Valéry

"Except in exceptional circumstances, I don’t like consulting books on matters which seem to me to be capable of being worked upon and dealt with through isolated mental activity, on the basis of direct personal observation."

— Paul Valéry

"The things I most like to read, which force me to read them - and re-read them - are those I feel are moving me forward the most, which are not concerned with local matters, but growth, promise, extension - an outward detour which leads me back to myself, more enlightened and better armed."

— Paul Valéry

"Painters in the grand style were not concerned with style - they drew with clarity and rigor. Style was born from their work, and just as thought does not think about the sound of its voice nor even the rhythm, but creates them through its act - so they did not … Style must arise naturally from one’s attention to an object and it disappears as the awareness of this attention decreases."

— Paul Valéry

"The separation of the sciences and the arts is merely a matter of convention and convenience. But in thinking and acting, man transcends these categories which are simply particular acts. Each one implicitly contains the other."

— Paul Valéry