Genius And Madness Quotes

Obsession is the wellspring of genius and madness.

There is no genius free from some tincture of madness

The true genius shudders at incompleteness.

There has never been any great genius without a spice of madness.

Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else.

Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity, as we all know.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.

Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.

Within the universe of the extraordinary, those qualities we designate to human concepts of gender are often shared, exchanged, or even completely obliterated. Because of this mixture of traits, these twins called Genius and Madness often appear to be the same thing. They both have a tendency to blur the lines of what we call norms, or established reality. They both, when we study that grand tapestry known as history and modern-day society, tend to stand out in much bolder relief than other figures. -- from Dancing with Madness, Dancing with Genius

There is no great genius without a mixture of madness.

The difference between insanity and genius is measured only by success and failure.

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.

Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.

Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect.

The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.

Rules and models destroy genius and art.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

Appalachia is still, for American musicians, a kind of fountain of youth we always go back to, the old home place to a group of artists who represent the quintessence of American independence, fortitude, genius, and madness.

There is always some madness in love.

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.

It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.

Apophenia means finding pattern or meaning where others don’t. Feelings of revelation and ecstasies usually accompany it. It has some negative connotations in psychological terminology when it implies finding meaning or pattern where none exists; and some positive ones when it implies finding something important, useful or beautiful. It thus links creativity and psychosis, genius and madness.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.