Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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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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In all things, to serve from the lowest station upwards is necessary. To restrict yourself to a trade is best. For the narrow mind, whatever he attempts is still a trade; for the higher, an art; and the highest in doing one thing does all, or, to speak less paradoxically, in the one thing which he does rightly he sees the likeness of all that is done rightly.
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Let no one be ashamed to say yes today if yesterday he said no. Or to say no today if yesterday he said yes. For that is life. Never to have changed-what a pitiable thing of which to boast!
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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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The old lose one of the greatest privileges of man, for they are no longer judged by their contemporaries.
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Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues.
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The smallest hair throws its shadow.
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Generosity wins favour for everyone, especially when it is accompanied by modesty.
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If ever the Divine appeared on earth, it was in the person of Christ.
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The arts are the salt of the earth; as salt relates to food, the arts relate to technology.
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No two people see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will often apply the same principle, recognized by both, differently. Even one and the same person won't always maintain the same views and judgments: earlier convictions must give way to later ones.
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Every day I observe more and more the folly of judging of others by ourselves; and I have so much trouble with myself, and my own heart is in such constant agitation, that I am well content to let others pursue their own course, if they only allow me the same privilege.
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Life is but a preparation for what there is to come.
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Duration in change.
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If a poet would work politically, he must give himself up to a party; and so soon as he does that, he is lost as a poet.
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Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.
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Oblivion is full of people who allow the opinions of others to overrule their belief in themselves.
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The world is full of contradiction.
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The best benefit we derive from history is the enthusiasm it excites.
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The eye doesn't see any shapes, it sees only what is differentiated through light and dark or through colors.
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The older we grow, the greater become the ordeals.
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When the healthy nature of man acts as a whole, when he feels himself to be in the world as in a great, beautiful, noble, and valued whole, when harmonious ease affords him a pure and free delight, then the universe, if it could experience itself, would exult, as having attained its goal, and admire the climax of its own becoming and essence.
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Impotent hatred is the most horrible of all emotions; one should hate nobody whom one cannot destroy.
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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.