Necessity holds on her knees the spindle around which the circles of the world turn: a siren is seated on each of these circles; each sings a note and these notes form the most perfect harmonies. This is the music of the world heard by souls before they descend into bodies . . . Musical instruments and voices are only a distant echo of the sublime music of creation.

-- Plato

(in Divine Sparks: Collected Wisdom of the Heart,

edited by Karen Speerstra)

The Ancient wrapped the whole world in a web of song.

-- Bruce Chatwin

(in Divine Sparks: Collected Wisdom of the Heart,

edited by Karen Speerstra)

Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust -- we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.

-- Albert Einstein

(quoted in The Divine Matrix

by Gregg Braden)

As far as I'm concerned, it's the artists who are going to save the world if it's ever going to be saved. Most of the great artists are searching for truth and beauty. That's a lot better than how many weapons can we make, how many other countries can we destroy, how many soldiers are going to get killed. It's the opposite.

-- Tony Bennett (Antonio Benedetto)

(quoted in The Arizona Republic, May 30, 2010)