Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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The sea is flowing ever, The land retains it never.
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The mob has nothing to lose, everything to gain.
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I let everyone follow his own bent, that I may be free to follow mine.
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Wer nichts wagt, gerwinnt nichts. Wer nie sein Brot mit Tränen aß,Wer nie die kummervollen NächteAuf seinem Bette weinend saß,Der kennt euch nicht, ihr himmlischen Mächte.
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The right man is the one who seizes the moment.
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The flowers of life are but visionary. How many pass away and leave no trace behind! How few yield any fruit,--and the fruit itself, how rarely does it ripen! And yet there are flowers enough; and is it not strange, my friend, that we should suffer the little that does really ripen to rot, decay, and perish unenjoyed?
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It is one of Heaven's best gifts to hold such a dear creature in one's arms.
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Truth is a torch, but a terrific one; therefore we all try to reach it with closed eyes, lest we should be scorched.
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Art will always be art.
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One criticizes the English for carrying their teapots wherever they go, even lugging them up Mount Etna. But doesn't every nationhave its teapot, in which, even when traveling, it brews the dried bundles of herbs brought from home?
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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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We usually lose today, because there has been a yesterday, and tomorrow is coming.
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Men in a state of nature, uncivilized nations, children, have a great fondness for colors in their utmost brightness, and especially for yellow-red.
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It is working within limits that the craftsman reveals himself.
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What I possess I would gladly retain. Change amuses the mind, yet scarcely profits.
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The person who in shaky times also wavers only increases the evil, but the person of firm decision fashions the universe.
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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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Is not the core of nature in the heart of man?
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Water its living strength first shows, When obstacles its course oppose.
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Experience is only half of experience.
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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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The iron hand of necessity commands, and her stern decree is supreme law, to which the gods even must submit. In deep silence rules the uncounselled sister of eternal fate. Whatever she lays upon thee, endure; perform whatever she commands.
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Distrust those in whom the desire to punish is strong.
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Only the heart without a stain knows ease.