--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are and always will be thousands of…" description: "\"There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!\" — Ludwig van Beethoven" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg" --- # There are and always will be thousands of princes, but… ![“There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!” quote by Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg) > “There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!” [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uniqueness of genius outweighs sheer numbers of talent. **In simple terms:** One true genius stands out among many. Key Takeaway Recognize and celebrate singular brilliance. Themes genius individuality recognition Mood admiring reflective Type inspirational historical When to use this quote - artistic achievement - historical legacy - cultural impact Key Concepts exceptional talent comparative rarity Questions to Reflect On - What makes a single creator transcend many? - How do we value uniqueness over quantity? A Different Perspective Even the greatest talent can be eclipsed by a single masterpiece. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [Princes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/princes/) ## Related quotes > [What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/what-you-are-you-are-by-accident-of-birth-what-i-am-i-am-by-myself/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [“Beethoven speaking to royalty: "What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beethoven/beethoven-speaking-to-royalty-what-you-are-you-are-by-accident-of/) Beethoven > [“Without doubt, princes become great when they overcome difficulties and hurdles put in their path. When fortune wants to advance a new prince... She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/without-doubt-princes-become-great-when-they-overcome-difficulties/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > […those who become princes through their skill acquire the pricipality with difficulty, buy they hold onto it with ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/those-who-become-princes-through-their-skill-acquire-the-pricipality/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [In the first place, most princes apply themselves to the arts of war, in which I have neither ability nor interest, instead of to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/in-the-first-place-most-princes-apply-themselves-to-the-arts-of-war/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [The Philosophy of Princes is to dive into the Secrets of men, leaving the secrets of nature to those that have spare time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-philosophy-of-princes-is-to-dive-into-the-secrets-of-men-leaving/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“He didn't know why, but seeing her made him feel like a man. She was something out of a dream - a dream in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/he-didn-t-know-why-but-seeing-her-made-him-feel-like-a-man-she-was/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Princes know themselves to be princes, and are not snobs; besides, they believe themselves to be so far above everything that is not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/princes-know-themselves-to-be-princes-and-are-not-snobs-besides-they/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Princes have but their titles for their glories, An outward honor for an inward toil; And, for unfelt imaginations, They often feel a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/princes-have-but-their-titles-for-their-glories-an-outward-honor-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Princes enjoy themselves like children in the company of ordinary human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/princes-enjoy-themselves-like-children-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Beethoven can write music, thank God, but he can do nothing else on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/beethoven-can-write-music-thank-god-but-he-can-do-nothing-else-on/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [“This is how things come to pass in the world,' one of the princes is supposed to have said. 'Blood flows one way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-kadar/this-is-how-things-come-to-pass-in-the-world-one-of-the-princes-is/) [Ismail Kadare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-kadar/) > [Spies are the ears and eyes of Princes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/spies-are-the-ears-and-eyes-of-princes/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“Two princes each one fair." \*Walks toward the princes\* "No get the hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-gleason/two-princes-each-one-fair-walks-toward-the-princes-no-get-the-hair/) Joanna Gleason ## More by Ludwig van Beethoven > [Strange, I feel as if up to now I had written no more than a few notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/strange-i-feel-as-if-up-to-now-i-had-written-no-more-than-a-few-notes/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [After Rossini dies, who will be there to promote his music?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/after-rossini-dies-who-will-be-there-to-promote-his-music/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [But what a humiliation for me when someone standing next to me heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/but-what-a-humiliation-for-me-when-someone-standing-next-to-me-heard/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [In the world of art, as in the whole of creation, freedom and progress are the main objectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/in-the-world-of-art-as-in-the-whole-of-creation-freedom-and-progress/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [I despise a world which does not feel that music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/i-despise-a-world-which-does-not-feel-that-music-is-a-higher/) [Ludwig Van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Good Morning, on July 7 My thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved I can only live wholly with you or not at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/good-morning-on-july-7-my-thoughts-go-out-to-you-my-immortal-beloved/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Off with you! You're a happy fellow, for you'll give happiness and joy to many other people. There is nothing better or greater than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/off-with-you-you-re-a-happy-fellow-for-you-ll-give-happiness-and-joy/) [Ludwig Van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [“You will not find a treatise that is too learned for me; without laying claim to any genuine learning, I yet accustomed myself from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/you-will-not-find-a-treatise-that-is-too-learned-for-me-without/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/art-who-comprehends-her-with-whom-can-one-consult-concerning-this/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Don't only practise your art, but force your way into its secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/don-t-only-practise-your-art-but-force-your-way-into-its-secrets/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [To me the highest thing, after God, is my honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/to-me-the-highest-thing-after-god-is-my-honor/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [The amount of money one needs is terrifying...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/the-amount-of-money-one-needs-is-terrifying/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/music-should-strike-fire-from-the-heart-of-man-and-bring-tears-from/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Artists who have won fame are often embarrassed by it; thus their first works are often their best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/artists-who-have-won-fame-are-often-embarrassed-by-it-thus-their/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Whoever tells a lie is not pure of heart, and such a person can not cook a clean soup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/whoever-tells-a-lie-is-not-pure-of-heart-and-such-a-person-can-not/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) [Explore all 168 Ludwig van Beethoven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) ## More Beethoven quotes > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/) [Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/) > [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/) Maynard Solomon > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/) [Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) > [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/) [Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/) > [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) Browse all 240 Beethoven quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ludwig van Beethoven" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-of-princes-but-there-is-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beethoven" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-of-princes-but-there-is-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/ludwig-van-beethoven-2361_beethoven_there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-o_331119.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are and always will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven!” — Ludwig van Beethoven", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ludwig van Beethoven", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are and always will be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-of-princes-but-there-is-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/there-are-and-always-will-be-thousands-of-princes-but-there-is-only/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```