Music...This is the favorite passion of my soul.
Interpretation
Music is a profound and cherished part of one's identity and emotional expression.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson expresses his deep affection for music, suggesting that it is not just a pastime but an essential aspect of his being. Music serves as an emotional outlet and a source of joy, highlighting its importance in the human experience and its ability to resonate with the soul.
In practice
During a speech on the importance of the arts, one could quote Jefferson to emphasize musicβs vital role in society.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
βWe must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
If you are not moved by the character, no amount of CGI will give you a performance that is emotionally engaging or devastating - what a live-action performance does.
Girls, there are poets who learn from you to say, what you, in your aloneness, are; and they learn through you to live distantness, as the evenings through the great stars become accustomed to eternity.
It was never about having a Mohican haircut or wearing a ripped T-shirt. It was all about destruction, and the creative potential within that.
Dumbing down takes many forms: art that is good for you, museums that flatter you, universities that increase your self-esteem. Culture, after all, is really about you.
I can work on a verse for a very long time before realising it's not any good and then, and only then, can I discard it.
Music knows no barrier of age or culture. It isnβt about being politically correct or even making a statement. Music is what appeals to the ears and touches your soul.
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