and misfortune didst Thou send upon
me to turn my thoughts to my errantries.--One thing, only, O Father, do
I ask: cease not to labor for my betterment. In whatsoever manner it be,
let me turn to Thee and become fruitful in good works."

(Copied into the Diary from Sturm's book, "Observations Concerning the
Works of God in Nature.")

APPENDIX

Some observations may finally be acceptable touching Beethoven's general
culture to which the thoughts of the reader must naturally have been
directed by the excerpts from his writings set forth in the preceding
pages. His own words betray the fact that he was not privileged to enjoy
a thorough school-training and was thus compelled to the end of his days
to make good the deficiencies in his learning. As a lad at Bonn he had
attended the so-called Tirocinium, a sort of preparatory school for the
Gymnasium, and acquired a small knowledge of Latin. Later he made great
efforts to acquire French, a language essential to intercourse in the
upper circles of society. He never established intimate relations
with the rules of German. He used small initials for substantives, or
capitalized verbs and adjectives according as they appeared important
to him. His punctuation was arbitrary; generally he drew a perpendicular
line between his words, letting it suffice for a comma or period as
the case might be (a proceeding which adds not a little to the
embarrassments of him who seeks to translate his sometimes mystical
utterances).

It is said that a man's bookcase bears evidence of his education and
intellectual interests. Beethoven also had books,--not many, but a
characteristic collection. From his faithful friend and voluntary
servant Schindler we have a report on this subject. Of the books
of which he was possessed at the time of his death there have been
preserved four volumes of translations of Shakespeare's works, Homer's
"Odyssey" in the translation of J. H. Voss, Sturm's "Observations"
(several times referred to in the preceding pages), and Goethe's
"West-ostlicher Divan." These books are frequently marked and annotated
in lead pencil, thus bearing witness to the subjects which interested
Beethoven. From them, and volumes which he had borrowed, many passages
were copied by him into his daily journal. Besides these books Schindler
mentions Homer's "Iliad," Goethe's poems, "Wilhelm Melster" and "Faust,"
Schiller's dramas and poems, Tiedge's "Urania," volumes of p