Edith Wharton on music

There are two ways of spreading light⁠—to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

No insect hangs its nest on threads as frail as those which will sustain the weight of human vanity.

Mrs. Ballinger is one of the ladies who pursue Culture in bands, as though it were dangerous to meet it alone.

If music be the food of love, play on.

William Shakespeare1564–1616Twelfth Night (1601), Act I, scene i.In context

• Love

Music makes one feel so romantic⁠—at least it always gets on one’s nerves⁠—which is the same thing nowadays.

Oscar Wilde1854–1900

• Love

Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.