Certainty Quote by Joseph Haydn
“Never was I so devout as when I composed The Creation. I knelt down each day to pray to God to give me strength for my work…When I was working on The Creation I felt so impregnated with Divine certainty, that before sitting down to the piano, I would quietly and confidently pray to God to grant me the talent that was needed to praise Him worthily.”
About This Quote
Source Letter: Personal correspondence, 1765, Haydn to a friend
Haydn describes his deep religious devotion and reliance on divine inspiration while composing his work The Creation.
In simple terms: He prayed for God’s help and felt certain of divine support while creating music.
Key Takeaway
Seek spiritual grounding before creative work.
Themes
faith
creativity
devotion
Mood
reverent
inspirational
Type
spiritual
artistic
When to use this quote
- composing sacred music
- pre-performance prayer
- seeking confidence
- artistic dedication
Key Concepts
Divine inspiration
musical composition
Questions to Reflect On
- How does faith influence your creative process?
- Can prayer replace practice?
A Different Perspective
Reliance on prayer may not guarantee skill; external factors also matter.
![“The custom of saluting [i.e., embracing] ladies by their relatives and friends was introduced, it is said, by the early Romans, not out of respect originally, but to find by their breath whether they had been drinking wine, this being criminal for women to do, as it sometimes led to adultery.” quote by Joseph Haydn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f54/joseph-haydn-25205_adultery_the-custom-of-saluting-i-e-embracing-lad_420485.jpg)
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)