Lessons of wisdom have the most power over us when they capture the heart through the groundwork of a story which engages the passions.

Our enemies are our evil deeds and their memories our pride our selfishness our malice our passions which by conscience or by habit pursue us with a relentlessness past the power of figure to express.

As an actor there is room for a certain amount of creativity but you're always ultimately going to be saying somebody else's words. I don't think I'd have the stamina skill or ability to write a novel but I'd love to write short stories and poetry because those are my two passions.

The old interests of aristocracy - the romance of action the exalted passions of chivalry and war - faded into the background and their place was taken by the refined and intimate pursuits of peace and civilization.

Plot rules nor even poetry are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature of character of the passions and their operations in diversified situations.

As long as I retain my feeling and my passion for Nature I can partly soften or subdue my other passions and resist or endure those of others.

Music is the career I'm lucky enough to get paid for but I have other desires and passions.

The more a race is governed by its passions the less it has acquired the habit of cautious and reasoned argument the more intense will be its love of music.

Nevertheless the passions whether violent or not should never be so expressed as to reach the point of causing disgust and music even in situations of the greatest horror should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it and thereby always remain music.

Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes.