Cruel memory of the days of liberty that are no more! To be free in mind, spirit, soul, and everything. To be free not to act, even not to think. To be free to forget time, to despise ambition, to mock glory, not to believe in love any more. To be free to go north, south, east, or west, to sleep in an open field, to live off very little, to wander without aim, to dream, to lie down and drowse for days on end to the gentle breeze of the warm Scirocco! True freedom, absolute and immense!

Hector Berlioz, from 'Memoirs', recalling his visit to Italy as a student in 1830