ABSTRACT
Beethoven felt impelled to reach a higher plane of Bildung, because this was expected of a distinguished cultural figure. He did his utmost to self-educate, and ancient writings played a pivotal role in this process. The present study established that he assuredly saw fit to read Homer, Plutarch, Horace, Epictetus, Euripides, Ovid, Xenophon, Meleager, Tyrtaeus and poetry known as the ’Greek anthology’, and that he seriously considered acquiring (for himself) Marcus Aurelius, Tacitus, Quintilian, Isocrates and Lucian. But there is good reason for assuming that he knew (much) more of the repertory. Links between antiquity and ’virtue’ were made by Beethoven, for whom reading the ancients was more than a leisure activity. A deeper motivation was attenuating frustration, sorrow, and feelings of guilt. What perturbed him, were shortcomings and failings. By dint of reading material he sought to improve his outlook and to heal himself from painful experiences and memories. But the conclusions seems warranted that if a desensitized Beethoven had succeeded in assimilating Stoic peremptory guidelines, this would probably have worked to the detriment of his indomitable spirit and his originality.
