Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Of all thieves, fools are the worst; they rob you of time and temper.
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It is said that no man is a hero to his valet. That is because a hero can be recognized only by a hero.
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Pity on the person who has become accustomed to seeing in necessity something arbitrary, who ascribes to the arbitrary some sort of reason, and even claims that following that sort of reason has religious value.
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Certain books seem to be written, not that we might learn from them, but in order that we might see how much the author knows.
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If you want a wise answer, ask a reasonable question.
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Napoleon affords us an example of the danger of elevating one's self to the absolute, and sacrificing everything to the carrying out of an idea.
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No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others.
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All things are only transitory.
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What is the universal? The single case. What is the particular? Millions of cases.
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Music is so elevated that it is beyond the reach of intellect and there flows from it an influence which is all-potent, and which noone can explain.
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If we examine every stage of our lives, we find that from our first breath to our last we are under the constraint of circumstances. And yet we still possess the greatest of all freedoms, the power of developing our innermost selves in harmony with the moral order of the universe, and so winning peace of heart whatever obstacles we meet.
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If nature is your teacher, your soul will awaken.
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A stated truth loses its grace, but a repeated error appears insipid and ridiculous.
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What do people mean when they talk about unhappiness? It is not so much unhappiness as impatience that from time to time possesses men, and then they choose to call themselves miserable.
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Just trust yourself and you'll learn the art of living.
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Commonplaceness, the surrender to the average, that good which is not bad but still the enemy of the best - That is our besetting danger.
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How can we learn self-knowledge? Never by taking thought but rather by action. Try to do your duty and you'll soon discover what you're like.
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Everywhere, we learn only from those whom we love.
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Always to distrust is an error, as well as always to trust.
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The loss of a much-prized treasure is only half felt when we have not regarded its tenure as secure.
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If a man knows where to get good advice, it is as though he could supply it himself.
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From inaccessible mountain range by way of desert untrod by human foot to the ends of the unknown seas, the breath of the everlasting creative spirit is felt, rejoicing over every speck of dust that hearkens to it and lives.
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The misery that oppresses you lies not in your profession but in yourself! What man in the world would not find his situation intolerable if he chooses a craft, an art, indeed any form of life, without experiencing an inner calling? Whoever is born with a talent, or to a talent, must surely find in that the most pleasing of occupations! Everything on this earth has its difficult sides! Only some inner drive - pleasure, love - can help us overcome obstacles, prepare a path, and lift as out of the narrow circle in which others tread out their anguished, miserable existences!
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One's roused by this, another finds that fit: Each loves the play for what he brings to it.