Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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O'er all the hilltopsIs quiet now,In all the treetopsHearest thouHardly a breath;The birds are asleep in the trees:Wait; soon like theseThou too shalt rest.
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Moral epochs have their course as well as the seasons. We can no more hold them fast than we can hold sun, moon, and stars. Our faults perpetually return upon us; and herein lies the subtlest difficulty of self-knowledge.
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The experiences show us just as we are; they make us see our own defects.
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Against great advantages in another, there are no means of defending ourselves except love.
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Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds.
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Man supposes that he directs his life and governs his actions, when his existence is irretrievably under the control of destiny.
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It used to happen, and still happens, to me to take no pleasure in a work of art at the first sight of it, because it is too much for me; but if I suspect any merit in it, I try to get at it; and then I never fail to make the most gratifying discoveries--to find new qualities in the work itself and new faculties in myself.
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There's nothing clever that hasn't been thought of before - you've just got to try to think it all over again.
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To make an epoch in the world, two conditions are manifestly essential-a good head and a great inheritance.
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If you wish to advance into the infinite, explore the finite in all directions.
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Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity.
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Der umgang mit frauen ist das element guter sitten.
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The greatest happiness for the thinking person is to have explored the explorable and to venerate in equanimity that which cannotbe explored.
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The close and thoughtful observer more and more learns to recognize his limitations. He realizes that with the steady growth of knowledge more and more new problems keep on emerging.
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The greatest genius will not be worth much if he pretends to draw exclusively from his own resources.
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I can promise to be sincere, but I cannot promise to be impartial.
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Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.
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Even the lowliest, provided he is whole, can be happy, and in his own way, perfect.
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How marvelous, wide and broad is my Inheritance! Time is my property, my estate is time.
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A true German can't stand the French, Yet willingly he drinks their wines.
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Association with women is the basis of good manners.
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In der Kunst ist das Beste gut genug.
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Only mankind Can do the impossible: He can distinguish, He chooses and judges, He can give permanence To the moment.
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Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths.