“You must always believe that life is as extraordinary as music says it is.”

“she repaid us by giving life the quality that but for her was only to be found in music ”

“Everyone realizes that one can believe little of what people say about each other, but it is not so widely realized that even less can one trust what people say about themselves.”

“Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.”

“Yes,” said Mamma, “this is the worst of life, that love does not give us common sense but is a sure way of losing it. We love people, and we say that we are going to do more for them than friendship, but it makes such fools of us that we do far less, indeed sometimes what we do could be mistaken for the work of hatred.”

“It's the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.”

“It is always one's virtues and not one's vices that precipitate one into disaster.”