Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Every man has enough power left to carry out that of which he is convinced.
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In politics people throw themselves, as on a sickbed, from one side to the other in the belief they will lie more comfortably.
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We are so constituted that we believe the most incredible things; and, once they are engraved upon the memory, woe to him who would endeavor to erase them.
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A stated truth loses its grace, but a repeated error appears insipid and ridiculous.
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An absent friend gives us friendly company when we are well assured of his happiness.
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Passions are vices or virtues to their highest powers.
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What government is the best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves. [Ger., Welche Regierung die beste sei? Diejenige die uns lehrt uns selbst zu regieren.]
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Know'st thou yesterday, its aim and reason? Work'st thou will today for worthier things? Then calmly wait the morrow's hidden season, And fear thou not, what hap soe'er it brings.
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He who is plenteously provided for from within needs but little from without.
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Tolerance should, strictly speaking, be only a passing mood; it ought to lead to acknowledgment and appreciation. To tolerate a person is to affront him.
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Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.
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Personality is everything in art and poetry.
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It is the strange fate of man, that even in the greatest of evils the fear of the worst continues to haunt him.
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No one should be rich except those who understand it.
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If one mistreats citizens of foreign countries, one infringes upon one's duty toward one's own subjects; for thus one exposes themto the law of retribution.
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Create, artist, do not talk.
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The true poet is called to take in the splendor of the world and for that reason will always be inclined to praise rather than tofind fault.
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It makes no good to point the failures out without showing at the same time the remedy to address them.
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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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And we went our separate ways without having understood each other. As in this world nobody understands the other easily.
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Unlike grown ups, children have little need to deceive themselves.
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Could we perfect human nature, we might also expect a perfect state of things.
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Mankind? That is an abstraction. There have always been and always will be only individuals.
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The happiest man is the one who finds happiness at home.