Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Nothing is good for a nation but that which arises from its own core and its own general wants, without apish imitation of another.
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I let everyone follow his own bent, that I may be free to follow mine.
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Rejoice that you have still have a long time to live, before the thought comes to you that there is nothing more in the world to see.
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Distrust those in whom the desire to punish is strong.
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A noble soul alone can noble souls attract; And knows alone, as ye, to hold them.
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We are our own devils; we drive ourselves out of our Edens.
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One never goes further than when they do not know where they are going.
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Error is to truth as sleep is to waking. I have observed that one turns, as if refreshed, from error back to truth.
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National literature does not mean much these days; now is the age of world literature, and every one must contribute to hasten thearrival of that age.
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Superstition is rooted in a much deeper and more sensitive layer of the psyche than skepticism.
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The confidant of my vices is my master, though he were my valet.
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Art rests on a kind of religious sense, on a deep, steadfast earnestness; and on this account it unites so readily with religion.
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One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a man.
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Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.
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The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his will upon nature, and freeing himself and his from an outrageous necessity--to see him taken up with some false notion, and doing just the opposite of what he wants to do; and then, because the whole bent of his mind is spoilt, bungling miserably over everything.
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Character develops itself in the stream of life.
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Over all the mountain tops is peace. In all treetops you perceive scarcely a breath. The little birds in the forest are silent. Wait then; soon, you too, will have peace.
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Mannerism always wants to be finished and doesn't enjoy the process. Genuine, truly great talent, however, finds its greatest satisfaction in the production.
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Rash, inexperienced youth holds itself a chosen instrument, and allows itself unbounded license.
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Culture which smooth the whole world licks, Also unto the devil sticks.
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A reasonable man needs only to practice moderation to find happiness.
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I have heard myself accused of being an opponent, an enemy of mathematics, which no one can value more highly than I, for it accomplishes the very thing whose achievement has been denied me.
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What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
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For usually people resist as long as they can to dismiss the fool they harbor in their bosom, they resist to confess a major mistake or to admit a truth that makes them despair.