“I should be sorry if I only entertained them, I wish to make them better.”

James Beattie, letter of May 25, 1780, published in William Forbes An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D. (1806) p. 331.
In reply to Lord Kinnoull, who had complimented him on his Messiah, "the noble entertainment which he had lately given the town". Beattie had this on the authority of Kinnoull himself.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Aug. 8, 2025. History

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George Frideric Handel 12
German, later British Baroque composer 1685–1759

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