George Grove's translation:

[Sidenote: _Beethoven's notes on descriptive music._]

"The hearers should be allowed to discover the situations."

"Sinfonia caracteristica, or a recollection of country
life."

"All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a
failure."

"Sinfonia pastorella. Anyone who has an idea of country life
can make out for himself the intentions of the author
without many titles."

"People will not require titles to recognize the general
intention to be more a matter of feeling than of painting in
sounds."

"Pastoral symphony: No picture, but something in which the
emotions are expressed which are aroused in men by the
pleasure of the country (or), in which some feelings of
country life are set forth."[C]

As to the relation of programme to music Schumann laid down an
admirable maxim when he said that while good music was not harmed by a
descriptive title it was a bad indication if a composition needed one.

[Sidenote: _Classic and Romantic._]