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What is Art, monsieur, but Nature concentrated?

— Honoré de Balzac Lost Illusions (1837)

Qu'est-ce que l'Art, monsieur ? C'est la Nature concentrée.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Part II. Un grand homme de province à Paris (A Distinguished Provincial in Paris) (1839), translated by Ellen Marriage, ch. I, section 5

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Honoré de Balzac (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.