Where did the saying "music soothes the savage beast" come from?

Question

I was curious if anyone knows who coined this phrase and what the original context was.

Answer 1

The other respondents are right. The original quote talks about the "savage breast." "Music soothes the savage beast" refers to the Tasmanian Devil in an episode of a Warner Brothers cartoon. I think it is a quote of Bugs Bunny.

Answer 2

Michael Blanding wrote that music can "soothe the savage breast." I believe the quote should read, "Music soothes the savage beast" from the Latin, "Musica delenit bestiam feram." The article did present an interesting aspect of the power of music.

Answer 3

That's actually a misquote.

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast" is from Act I, Scene I of William Congreve's The Mourning Bride.