What might be taken for a precocious genius is the genius of childhood. When the child grows up, it disappears without a trace. It may happen that this boy will become a real painter some day, or even a great painter. But then he will have to begin everything again, from zero.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Spanish artist. Quoted in Gyula Brassaï, Picasso and Company, p. 86 (1964, trans. 1966).