Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Die Kunst an und für sich selbst ist edel; deßhalb fürchtet sich der Künstler nicht vor dem Gemeinen. Ja indem er es aufnimmt, ist es schon geadelt, und so sehen wir die größten Künstler mit Kühnheit ihr Majestätsrecht ausüben.
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A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.
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The best fortune that can fall to a man is that which corrects his defects and makes up for his failings.
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The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.
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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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Even the lowliest, provided he is whole, can be happy, and in his own way, perfect.
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No one is willing to believe that adults too, like children, wander about this earth in a daze and, like children, do not know where they come from or where they are going, act as rarely as they do according to genuine motives, and are as thoroughly governed as they are by biscuits and cake and the rod.
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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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A mathematician is only perfect insofar as he is a perfect man, sensitive to the beauty of truth.
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'No matter how far our spiritual culture may continue to progress, no matter how much the natural sciences may grow, becoming ever more profound and more inclusive, no matter how much the human spirit may will to expand, that human spirit will never escape from the majesty and ethical sublimity of Christianity, as it shimmers and shines in the Gospels.'
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It is in human nature to relax, when not compelled by personal advantage or disadvantage.
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There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.
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The sea is flowing ever, The land retains it never.
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Be always resolute with the present hour. Every moment is of infinite value.
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Superstition is the poesy of practical life; hence, a poet is none the worse for being superstitious.
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I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should.
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Shakespeare is a great psychologist, and whatever can be known of the heart of man may be found in his plays.
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Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths.
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With little art, clear wit and sense Suggest their own delivery.
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The ground that a good man treads is hallowed.
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There is nothing in the world more shameful than establishing one's self on lies and fables.
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A man who is ignorant of foreign languages is also ignorant of his own language.
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Water its living strength first shows, When obstacles its course oppose.
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I can promise to be sincere, but I cannot promise to be impartial.