It is a mark of genius not to astonish but to be astonished.

The mark of genius is an incessant activity of mind. Genius is a spiritual greed.

— V. S. Pritchett

A sense of timing is the mark of a genius.

— Jenny Holzer

To do what is impossible for talent is the mark of genius.

— Henri Frederic Amiel

The principal mark of genius is not perfection, but originality.

— Anonymous

“To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.”

— Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette

When I saw the plane, I was absolutely astonished! Two emotions crashed over me: surging joy and crazy fear.

— Abby Sunderland

I was so astonished that another had penetrated so deeply into the secrets of my soul, and that he knew what I did not…

— Max Muller

“Her thoughts rambled, but she wasn’t daydreaming. Her senses were sharp. She caught the fall of every leaf in the garden, the rustle of…

— Kristin Cashore

Only a fool is astonished by the foolishness of mankind.

— Edward Abbey

In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.

— Richard Flanagan

Her professors were astonished by her leaps of thought, by the finesse and elegance of her insights. She arrived at hypotheses by sheer intuition…

— Deborah Eisenberg

“The orb sat, exhausted and astonished.  In a thousand years and more—it had never been thanked for failure.”

— Debora Geary

Young people have the advantage because they have their whole lives open to be astonished.

— Daniel Libeskind

I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…

— Carl Jung

There are times when phrases such as 'totally astonished' just don't do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to…

— Terry Pratchett