Beethoven, the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in His Own Words

by Ludwig van Beethoven

(October 6, 1802, in the so-called Heiligenstadt Will.)

168. “Divinity, thou lookest into my heart, thou knowest it, thou knowest that love for mankind and a desire to do good have their abode there. O ye men, when one day ye read this think that ye have wronged me, and may the unfortunate console himself with the thought that he has found one of his kind who, despite all the obstacles which nature put in his path, yet did all in his power to be accepted in the ranks of worthy artists and men!”

(From the Heiligenstadt Will.)

169. “I spend all my mornings with the muses;—and they bless me also in my walks.”

(October 12, 1835, to his nephew Karl.)

170. “Concerning myself nothing,—that is, from nothing nothing.”

(October 19, 1815, to Countess Erdody.)

[A possible allusion to the line, “Nothing can come of nothing.” from Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” Act 1, scene 1]

171. “Beethoven can write, thank God; but do nothing else on earth.”

(December 22, 1822, to Ferdinand Ries, in London.)