Strange, I feel as if up to now I had written no more than a few notes.

Figured Bass (Harmony) and Religion are self-contained things, one should not argue these.

I will seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.

I carry my thoughts about with me for a long time... before writing them down... once I have grasped a theme. I shall not forget it even years later. I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head... [the work] rises, it grows, I hear and see the image n front of me from every angle... and only the labor of writing it down remains... I turn my ideas into tones that resound, roar, and rage until at last they stand before me in the form of notes.

I wish you music to help with the burdens of life ,and to help you release your happiness to others.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

Yet it was impossible for me to say to people, 'Speak louder, shout, for I am deaf.' Ah, how could I possibly admit an infirmity in the one sense which ought to be more perfect in me than others, a sense which I once possessed in the highest perfection, a perfection such as few in my profession enjoy or ever have enjoyed.