Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Only the heart without a stain knows ease.
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I am not omniscient, but I know a lot.
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Culture which smooth the whole world licks, Also unto the devil sticks.
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Whatever liberates our spirit, without also giving us mastery over ourselves, is destructive.
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The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.
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The greatest act of faith takes place when a man finally decides that he is not God.
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Legislators and revolutionaries who promise both equality and liberty are visionaries and charlatans.
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A reasonable man needs only to practice moderation to find happiness.
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It is not enough to have knowledge; one must apply it. It is not enough to have wishes; one must also accomplish it.
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The bed of flowers Loosens amain, The beauteous snowdrops Droop o'er the plain. The crocus opens Its glowing bud, Like emeralds others, Others, like blood. With saucy gesture Primroses flare, And roguish violets, Hidden with care; And whatsoever There stirs and strives, The Spring's contented, If works and thrives.
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New inventions can and will be made; however, nothing new can be thought of that concerns moral man. Everything has already been thought and said which at best we can express in different forms and give new expressions to.
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A vain man can never be utterly ruthless: he wants to win applause and therefore he accommodates himself to others.
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Do people conform to the instructions of us old ones? Each thinks he must know best about himself, and thus many are lost entirely.
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To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.
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We often feel that we lack something, and seem to see that very quality in someone else, promptly attributing all our own qualities to him too, and a kind of ideal contentment as well. And so the happy mortal is a model of complete perfection--which we have ourselves created.
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They teach in academies far too many things, and far too much that is useless.
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The ideal of beauty is simplicity and tranquility.
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The world is so great and rich, and life so full of variety, that you can never lack occasions for poems.
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Bin ich ein Gott? Mir wird so licht!
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The little man is still a man.
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A useless life is an early death.
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The beautiful is a phenomenon which is never apparent of itself, but is reflected in a thousand different works of the creator.
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The field of experience is the whole universe in all directions. Theory remains shut up within the limits of human faculties.
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It seems to me that every phenomenon, every fact, itself is the really interesting object. Whoever explains it, or connects it with other events, usually only amuses himself or makes sport of us, as, for instance, the naturalist or historian. But a single action or event is interesting, not because it is explainable, but because it is true.