Lev Shestov (1866-1938)

“In order to be a virtuoso, a master of one’s art and one’s instrument, it is necessary, with a truly angelic or asinine patience, to try over and over again… dozens, hundreds, thousands of times… sparing neither labor, nor time, nor health. Objectionable, tedious, irritating labor — this is the condition of genius, which no doubt explains the reason why men so rarely achieve anything. The majority prefer talent, that medium which lies between genius and mediocrity.”