Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"The beauty of the unknown is that the light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance."

"When ambition meets humility, we find that wisdom is knowing when to speak and when to listen."

"A resilient spirit knows that wisdom is knowing when to speak and when to listen."

"No one would talk much in society, if he knew how often he misunderstands others."

"The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become."

"Wisdom is found only in truth."

"Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men."

"Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago."

"First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth."

"We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases."

"Doubt grows with knowledge."

"All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own."

"Error is acceptable as long as we are young but one must not drag it along into old age."

"Wisdom principle 98 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 72."

"Wisdom principle 93 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 69."

"Wisdom principle 88 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 66."

"Wisdom principle 78 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 60."

"Wisdom principle 68 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 54."

"Wisdom principle 63 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 51."

"Wisdom principle 58 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 48."

"Wisdom principle 53 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 45."

"It is a timeless truth that bravery is born the moment you decide your values outweigh your comforts."

"It is a unyielding truth that when you master your attention, you master your entire perception of reality."

"The art of living is discovering that the heart sees what is invisible to the eye."

"To walk the path of enlightenment means the melody of life is composed of both highs and lows."

"What, then, is your duty? What the day demands."

"A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait."

"Superstition is the poetry of life."

"To the person with a firm purpose all men and things are servants."

"Character develops itself in the stream of life."

"What is important in life is life, and not the result of life."

"Those who hope for no other life are dead even for this."

"He only earns his freedom and his life Who takes them every day by storm."

"An unused life is an early death."

"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes."

"This is the highest wisdom that I own freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew."

"Wisdom principle 83 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 63."

"Wisdom principle 48 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 42."

"Wisdom principle 38 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 36."

"Wisdom principle 18 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 24."

"Wisdom principle 13 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 21."

"Wisdom principle 8 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 18."

"It is a essential truth that an idea is a delicate seed; water it with curiosity and protect it from cynicism — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It is a enduring truth that a life well-lived leaves an aroma of kindness long after the sun has set."

"The richness of existence is found in simple harmonies, not superfluous splendors. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Talent develops in quiet, Character in the torrent of the world."

"Wisdom principle 103 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 75."

"Wisdom principle 73 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 57."

"Wisdom principle 43 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 39."

"Wisdom principle 33 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 33."

"Wisdom principle 28 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 30."

"Wisdom principle 23 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 27."

"Wisdom principle 3 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 15."

"Serenity begins the moment you cease demanding that the external world conform — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"A mindful spirit recognizes that the essence of humanity is our ability to connect."

"Then indecision brings its own delays, And days are lost lamenting o'er lost days."

"The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes."

"Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image."

"Where is the man who has the strength to be true, and to show himself as he is?"

"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste."

"To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods."

"Few people have the imagination for reality."

"One cannot develop taste from what is of average quality but only from the very best."

"True wealth is not measured in gold, but in the belief that every step forward is a victory over stagnation."

"Do not give in too much to feelings. A overly sensitive heart is an unhappy possession on this shaky earth."

"Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen."

"Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world."

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."

"It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed."

"Character, in great and little things, means carrying through what you feel able to do."

"I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should."

"We can't form our children on our own concepts; we must take them and love them as God gives them to us."

"There is a courtesy of the heart it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior."

"Love can do much, but duty more."

"Girls we love for what they are young men for what they promise to be."

"Love does not dominate it cultivates."

"I love those who yearn for the impossible."

"Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask from God."

"If I love you, what business is it of yours?"

"Nothing is worth more than this day."

"Correction does much, but encouragement does more."

"No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others."

"It seems to never occur to fools that merit and good fortune are closely united."

"Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it and a man becomes famous because he has the proper stuff in him."

"Age merely shows what children we remain."

"Science arose from poetry... when times change the two can meet again on a higher level as friends."

"It is after all the greatest art to limit and isolate oneself."

"In art the best is good enough."

"Personality is everything in art and poetry."

"I call architecture frozen music."

"The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them."

"A quiet mind is capable of understanding that joy is found not in possessing, but in appreciating."

"Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable."

"If you start to think about your physical or moral condition, you usually find that you are sick."

"Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable."

"All intelligent thoughts have already been thought what is necessary is only to try to think them again."

"A resilient spirit knows that joy is found not in possessing, but in appreciating."

"Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid."

"Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops."

"The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it."

"A really great talent finds its happiness in execution."

"The tapestry of existence shows us that a mind at peace can weather any storm."

"Which government is best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves."

"On all the peaks lies peace."

"Which government is the best? The one that teaches us to govern ourselves."

"The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves."

"A visionary sees the unseen and knows the only true currency in life is time well spent."

"We always have time enough, if we will but use it aright."

"One always has time enough, if one will apply it well."

"Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something done."

"Death is a commingling of eternity with time in the death of a good man, eternity is seen looking through time."

"To walk the path of enlightenment means authenticity is the rarest and most beautiful asset."

"Leadership is not a title, it is the realization that authenticity is the rarest and most beautiful asset."

"Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest."

"Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever."

"The Christian religion, though scattered and abroad will in the end gather itself together at the foot of the cross."

"If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise."

"We can't form our children on our own concepts we must take them and love them as God gives them to us."

"The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone."

"Never underestimate the power of every failure is just a stepping stone to greatness."

"To rule is easy, to govern difficult."

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

"Every sunset is a reminder that a single spark of imagination can ignite the world."

"Nothing is more fearful than imagination without taste."

"The biggest problem with every art is by the use of appearance to create a loftier reality."

"Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout."

"Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing."

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home."

"Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home."

"Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live."

"Trust yourself, then you will know how to live."

"The paradox of freedom is that the light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance."

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

"In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it."

"Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction."

"He who possesses art and science has religion he who does not possess them, needs religion."

"The credit of advancing science has always been due to individuals and never to the age."

"The simplest truths often reveal that character is forged in the fires of discipline."

"When ambition meets humility, we find that character is forged in the fires of discipline."

"Patience is a virtue because the mind is a garden where thoughts are the seeds."

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

"Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words."

"We cannot fashion our children after our desires, we must have them and love them as God has given them to us."

"One ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."

"What is uttered from the heart alone, Will win the hearts of others to your own."

"One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude."

"It is the strange fate of man, that even in the greatest of evils the fear of the worst continues to haunt him."

"The pursuit of excellence requires knowing that a single moment of clarity can change a lifetime."

"Humility is not weakness in leadership; it is the cornerstone of unassailable respect. Let this simple maxim guide your daily deeds."

"Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds."

"The right man is the one who seizes the moment."

"The mediator of the inexpressible is the work of art."

"Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time."

"A useless life is an early death."

"Piety is not a goal but a means to attain through the purest peace of mind the highest culture."

"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!"