What is to reach the heart must come from above; if it does not come from thence, it will be nothing but notes, body without spirit.

Oh continue to love me, never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.

It seemed unthinkable for me to leave the world forever before I had produced all that I felt called upon to produce

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

We mortals with immortal minds are only born for sufferings and joys, and one could almost say that the most excellent receive joy through sufferings.

The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, 'Thus far and no farther.'

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.