Richard Wagner

I have no friends, only disciples.

I need to live in a world of illusion to create my art.

The world owes me a living, and I will take what is mine.

I am a law unto myself.

My genius is a curse and a blessing at the same time.

I feel as if I am living in a dream, and I never want to wake up.

I am not made for this world; I belong to a higher sphere.

I hate the theatre, but I love the stage.

My mission is to regenerate mankind through art.

I am an invalid, and I must be treated as such.

The true artist is a god, and he must be worshipped as such.

My greatest pleasure is to torment myself.

I am a pure vegetarian, and I believe that eating meat is a barbaric act.

I have never sought happiness, only greatness.

My dreams are more real than my waking life.

I am an artist, and therefore I am above the laws of ordinary men.

I am the most unfortunate of men, for I am a genius in a world of fools.

I communicate with the spirit world through my music.

My greatest joy is to make others suffer for my art.

I have never been truly happy, for happiness is a bourgeois invention.