“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.”

See the mountains kiss high Heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea – What is all this sweet work worth If thou kiss not me?

Government is an evil; it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay.

O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?

The man of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.

Strange thoughts beget strange deeds.

And Spring arose on the garden fair, Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere; And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

Nothing wilts faster than laurels that have been rested upon.

Man who man would be, must rule the empire of himself.

I love snow, snow, and all the forms of radiant frost.

If God has spoken, why is the world not convinced.

The great instrument of moral good is the imagination.

In fact, truth cannot be communicated until it is perceived.

First our pleasures die – and then our hopes, and then our fears – and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust – and we die too.

I pant, I sink, I tremble, I expire!

Before man can be free, and equal, and truly wise, he must cast aside the chains of habit and superstition; he must strip sensuality of its pomp, and selfishness of its excuses, and contemplate actions and objects as they really are.

Familiar acts are beautiful through love.

Certain kinds of people will always have an issue with my music. But that’s fine; it’s OK. I don’t want to be the McDonald’s of music.

No shade to the other artists in Chicago, but if you got confidence in yourself and you know you’re Number One, say it.

Sometimes it’s just surreal out there, while you’re running a marathon. People just standing out in the cold, even the rain, cheering for you, blasting music for you. It’s an awesome show of camaraderie and community.

Dare to be honest and fear no labor. … Opera is where a man gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings.

When I began to rap, I wasn’t taking it real serious. As I start seeing good things, it’s getting serious.

Thankfulness is the tune of angels.

I just love music – by no stretch of the imagination am I professionally competent.

Mozart didn’t need a scheme for his music. He played and sang with the heavenly lightness of a child.