. . . I urge young musicians: 'Don't be vain because you happen to have talent. You are not responsible for that; it was not of your doing. What you do with your talent is what matters. You must cherish this gift. Do not demean or waste what you have been given. Work -- work constantly and nourish it.'

Of course, the gift to be cherished most of all is that of life itself. One's work should be a salute to life.

-- Pablo Casals

(in The Music Lover's Literary Companion,

compiled by Joan and Dannie Abse)