We eagerly get hold of a law that serves as a weapon to our passions.

The rose is wont with pride to swell, and ever seeks to rise.

Nothing is more damaging to the truth than an old error.

The man of understanding finds everything laughable.

Life is but a preparation for what there is to come.

Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout.

No one can take from us the joy of the first becoming aware of something, the so-called discovery. But if we also demand the honor, it can be utterly spoiled for us, for we are usually not the first. What does discovery mean, and who can say that he has discovered this or that? After all it's pure idiocy to brag about priority; for it's simply unconscious conceit, not to admit frankly that one is a plagiarist.