Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.
Ludwig Van BeethovenRead
Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Music connects us to a greater understanding of humanity that is beyond our grasp.
In this quote, Beethoven emphasizes the transcendental nature of music, suggesting that it serves as a bridge to a deeper knowledge and understanding of life and the human experience. Despite its profound impact, this elevated realm of understanding remains elusive and ungraspable for mankind, highlighting the unique ability of music to resonate with our innermost feelings and truths.
Themes
MusicKnowledgeUnderstandingHumanityTranscendence
In practice
Example use cases
You might quote this during a discussion about the impact of music on human emotions.
More from Ludwig Van Beethoven
All quotes →I alter some things, eliminate and try again until I am satisfied. Then begins the mental working out of this material in its breadth, its narrowness, its height and depth.
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Often, I can scarcely hear any one speaking to me; the tones yes, but not the actual words; yet as soon as any one shouts, it is unbearable. What will come of all this, heaven only knows!
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Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.
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I carry my thoughts about me for a long time, often a very long time, before I write them down; meanwhile my memory is so faithful that I am sure never to forget, not even in years, a theme that has once occurred to me.
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Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience.
Ludwig Van BeethovenRead
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