(Diary, 1814, while working on “Fidelio.”)
254. “Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time; therefore never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”
(From the notes in Archduke Rudolph’s instruction book.)
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.”