Thibaut, a man of strong personality, was much more than a jurist: he has a place in the history of music. Palestrina and the early composers of church music were his delight; and in 1824 he published, anonymously, "Über die Reinheit der Tonkunst" (Purity of Music), in which he eulogized the old music, especially that of Palestrina. He was an ardent collector of old compositions, and often sent young men to Italy, at his own expense, to discover interesting musical manuscripts. Among the masters of German prose, too, Thibaut has a place. His style, though simple, is richly expressive.