Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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He who is firm and resolute in will molds the world to himself.
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What I possess I would gladly retain. Change amuses the mind, yet scarcely profits.
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To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.
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The greatest joy of a thinking man is to have searched the explored and to quietly revere the unexplored.
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I do not now begin, - I still adore Her whom I early cherish'd in my breast; Then once again with prudence dispossess'd, And to whose heart I'm driven back once more. The love of Petrarch, that all-glorious love, Was unrequited, and, alas, full sad.
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The Bible grows more beautiful, as we grow in our understanding of it.
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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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Hatred is partial, but love is still more so.
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Character calls forth character.
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The confidant of my vices is my master, though he were my valet.
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One says a lot in vain, refusing;The other mainly hears the 'No.'
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The mob has nothing to lose, everything to gain.
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Man's restlessness makes him strive.
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There is no greater consolation for mediocrity than that the genius is not immortal.
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Is not the core of nature in the heart of man?
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Art is in itself noble; that is why the artist has no fear of what is common. This, indeed, is already ennobled when he takes it up.
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To have a positive religion is not necessary. To be in harmony with yourself and the universe is what counts, and this is possible without positive and specific formulation in words.
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If we are out of synch with ourselves, everything is out of synch for us.
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Men are much more apt to agree in what they do than in what they think.
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Thank God when He lays a burden on thee, and thank Him when He takes it off.
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Translators are like busy match-makers: they sing the praises of some half-veiled beauty, and extol her charms, and arouse an irresistible longing for the original.
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Oh, happy he who still hopes he can emerge from Error's boundless sea! - Faust.
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One alone does not help, but rather he who unites with many at the right moment.
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We cannot and must not get rid of nor deny our characteristics. But we can give them shape and direction.