The world is a king, and like a king, desires flattery in return for favor; but true art is selfish and perverse — it will not submit to the mold of flattery.

Even in poverty I lived like a king for I tell you that nobility is the thing that makes a king

I can do nothing but think of you... What have you done to me? Can't you remove the spell you have cast over me?

Applaud my friends, the comedy is over... [on his death bed]

How glad I am to be able to roam in the wood and thicket, among trees and flowers and rocks ... in the country, every tree seems to speak to me, saying, "Holy! Holy", in the woods, there is enchantment which expresses all things.

Music is the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit.

Art always demands of us something new.