“To see the world in a grain of sand is not merely a poet’s phrase, but the very secret of poetry.”

Often attributed to Symons in quotation collections, but the exact source requires verification · Essay on poetry, commonly attributed

• Nature
• Poetry
• Truth

“If ever there was a religion of the eyes, I have devoutly practised that religion. I noted every face that passed me on the pavement.”

His confession of a poet's compulsive, hungry attention to the visible world · Prose reminiscence on his early years in London

• Art
• Beauty

“I am always charmed to read beautiful poems about nature in the country. Only, personally, I prefer town to country.”

A frank admission of his urban, artificial sensibility · Preface, defence of Silhouettes

• Art
• Nature