Beethoven, the Man and the Artist Part 18

255. "This is the mark of distinction of a truly admirable man: steadfastness in times of trouble."

(Diary, 1816.)

256. "Courage, so it be righteous, will gain all things."

(April, 1815, to Countess Erdody.)

257. "Force, which is a unit, will always prevail against the majority which is divided."

(Conversation-book, 1819.)

258. "Kings and Princes can create professors and councillors, and confer orders and decorations; but they can not create great men, spirits that rise above the earthly rabble; these they can not create, and therefore they are to be respected."

(August 15, 1812, to Bettina von Arnim.)

259. "Man, help yourself!"

(Written under the words: "Fine, with the help of G.o.d," which Moscheles had written at the end of a pianoforte arrangement of a portion of "Fidelio.")

260. "If I could give as definite expression to my thoughts about my illness as to my thoughts in music, I would soon help myself."

(September, 1812, to Amalie Sebald, a patient at the cure in Teplitz.)

261. "Follow the advice of others only in the rarest cases."

(Diary, 1816.)

262. "The moral law in us, and the starry sky above us."--Kant.

(Conversation-book, February, 1820.)

[Literally the pa.s.sage in Kant's "Critique of Practical Reason" reads as follows: "Two things fill the soul with ever new and increasing wonder and reverence the oftener the mind dwells upon them:--the starry sky above me and the moral law in me."]

263. "Blessed is he who has overcome all pa.s.sions and then proceeds energetically to perform his duties under all circ.u.mstances careless of success! Let the motive lie in the deed, not in the outcome. Be not one of those whose spring of action is the hope of reward. Do not let your life pa.s.s in inactivity. Be industrious, do your duty, banish all thoughts as to the results, be they good or evil; for such equanimity is attention to intellectual things. Seek an asylum only in Wisdom; for he who is wretched and unhappy is so only in consequence of things. The truly wise man does not concern himself with the good and evil of this world. Therefore endeavor diligently to preserve this use of your reason--for in the affairs of this world, such a use is a precious art."

(Diary. Though essentially in the language of Beethoven there is evidence that the pa.s.sage was inspired by something that he had read.)

264. "The just man must be able also to suffer injustice without deviating in the least from the right course."

(To the Viennese magistrate in the matter of Karl's education.)

265. "Man's humility towards man pains me; and yet when I consider myself in connection with the universe, what am I and what is he whom we call the greatest? And yet here, again, lies the divine element in man."

(To the "Immortal Beloved," July 6 (1800?).)

266. "Only the praise of one who has enjoyed praise can give pleasure."

(Conversation-book, 1825.)

267. "Nothing is more intolerable than to be compelled to accuse one's self of one's own errors."

(Teplitz, September 6, 1811, to Tiedge. Beethoven regrets that through his own fault he had not made Tiedge's acquaintance on an earlier opportunity.)

268. "What greater gift can man receive than fame, praise and immortality?"

(Diary, 1816-17. After Pliny, Epist. III.)

269. "Frequently it seems as if I should almost go mad over my undeserved fame; fortune seeks me out and I almost fear new misfortune on that account."

(July, 1810, to his friend Zmeskall. "Every day there come new inquiries from strangers, new acquaintances new relations.h.i.+ps.")

270. "The world must give one recognition,--it is not always unjust. I care nothing for it because I have a higher goal."

(August 15, 1812, to Bettina von Arnim.)

271. "I have the more turned my gaze upwards; but for our own sakes and for others we are obliged to turn our attention sometimes to lower things; this, too, is a part of human destiny."