Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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Only that type of story deserves to be called moral that shows us that one has the power within oneself to act, out of the conviction that there is something better, even against one's own inclination.
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The whole art of living consists in giving up existence in order to exist.
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The solution of every problem is another problem.
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A good man, through obscurest aspirations Has still an instinct of the one true way.
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The soul of the Christian religion is reverence.
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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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Always to distrust is an error, as well as always to trust.
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It would be a lowly art that allowed itself to be understood all at once.
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There is strong shadow where there is much light.
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People are always talking about originality; but what do they mean? As soon as we are born, the world begins to work upon us; and this goes on to the end. And after all, what can we call our own, except energy, strength, and will? If I could give an account of all that I owe to great predecessors and contemporaries, there would be but a small balance in my favor.
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The spirit from which we act is the principal matter.
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We eagerly get hold of a law that serves as a weapon to our passions.
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Tis Lilith. Who? Adam's first wife is she. Beware the lure within her lovely tresses, The splendid sole adornment of her hair; When she succeeds therewith a youth to snare, Not soon again she frees him from her jesses.
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If thou wouldst hear what seemly is and fit, inquire of noble woman; they can tell, who in life's common usage hold their place by graceful deed and aptly chosen word.
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Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
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What is the true test of character unless it be its progressive development in the bustle and turmoil, in the action and reaction of daily life.
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Life is but a preparation for what there is to come.
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Limitation of aims is the mother of wisdom and the secret of achievement.
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Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does.
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Humor is one of the elements of genius--admirable as an adjunct; but as soon as it becomes dominant, only a surrogate for genius.
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Presents at once? That's good. He is sure to succeed.
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Superstition is the poetry of life. It is inherent in man's nature; and when we think it is wholly eradicated, it takes refuge in the strangest holes and corners, whence it peeps out all at once, as soon as it can do it with safety.
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He who cannot love must learn to flatter.
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Don't feel guilty if you don't immediately love your stepchildren as you do your own, or as much as you think you should. Everyoneneeds time to adjust to the new family, adults included. There is no such thing as an "instant parent." Actually, no concrete object lies outside of the poetic sphere as long as the poet knows how to use the object properly.