Note 110 — Chapter V

“Abgerissene Sätze wie Fürsten sind Bettler u. s. w.” The phrase is probably a record of Beethoven’s imperfect recollection of the line “Bettler werden Fürstenbrüder,” which appeared in an early version of Schiller’s poem where now we read “Alle Menschen werden Brüder.” The thought lies near that it was the early form of the poem, when it was still an “Ode to Freedom” (not “to Joy”), which first aroused enthusiastic admiration for it in Beethoven’s mind. In a Conversation Book of 1824 Bernard says to Beethoven: “In your text it reads,” followed by the observation, “All this is due here to the direction of the aristocracy”—which may or may not have connection with a conversation in which politics was playing a part.