"I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut."

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More quotes from: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• "A clever man commits no minor blunders. "
• "A correct answer is like an affectionate kiss. "
• "A creation of importance can only be produced when its author isolates himself, it is ..."
• "A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait. "
• "A noble person attracts noble people, and knows how to hold on to them. "
• "A person hears only what they understand. "
• "A person places themselves on a level with the ones they praise. "
• "A purpose you impart is no longer your own. "
• "A really great talent finds its happiness in execution. "
• "A useless life is an early death. "
• "Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite ..."
• "Age merely shows what children we remain. "
• "Alas! sorrow from happiness is oft evolved. "
• "All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to ..."
• "All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my ..."
• "All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green. "
• "All things are only transitory. "
• "All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them ..."
• "An unused life is an early death. "
• "As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. "
• "Be above it! Make the world serve your purpose, but do not serve it. "
• "Be generous with kindly words, especially about those who are absent. "
• "Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from ..."
• "Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of ..."
• "Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest. "
• "Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. "
• "Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing. "
• "Certain defects are necessary for the existence of individuality. "
• "Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked ..."
• "Character develops itself in the stream of life. "
• "Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world. "
• "Character, in great and little things, means carrying through what you feel able to do. "
• "Common sense is the genius of humanity. "
• "Correction does much, but encouragement does more. "
• "Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start ..."
• "Death is a commingling of eternity with time; in the death of a good man, ..."
• "Deeply earnest and thoughtful people stand on shaky footing with the public. "
• "Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us ..."
• "Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something ..."
• "Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise. "
• "Do not give in too much to feelings. A overly sensitive heart is an unhappy ..."
• "Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. "
• "Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against ..."
• "Every person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill. "
• "Every spoken word arouses our self-will. "
• "Every step of life shows much caution is required. "
• "Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow. "
• "Everyone hears only what he understands. "
• "Everything in the world may be endured except continual prosperity. "
• "Few people have the imagination for reality. "
• "First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth. "
• "For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself ..."
• "For just when ideas fail, a word comes in to save the situation. "
• "Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which ..."
• "Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity. "
• "Girls we love for what they are; young men for what they promise to be. "
• "Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it ..."
• "Hatred is active, and envy passive dislike; there is but one step from envy to ..."
• "Hatred is something peculiar. You will always find it strongest and most violent where there ..."
• "He is dead in this world who has no belief in another. "
• "He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home. "
• "He only earns his freedom and his life Who takes them every day by storm. "
• "He who does not think much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines. "
• "He who enjoys doing and enjoys what he has done is happy. "
• "He who has a task to perform must know how to take sides, or he ..."
• "He who is plenteously provided for from within, needs but little from without. "
• "How can we know ourselves? Never by reflection, but only through action. Begin at once ..."
• "How can you come to know yourself? Never by thinking; always by doing. Try to ..."
• "I call architecture frozen music. "
• "I can tell you, honest friend, what to believe: believe life; it teaches better that ..."
• "I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should. "
• "I think that I am better than the people who are trying to reform me. "
• "I will listen to anyone's convictions, but pray keep your doubts to yourself. "
• "If a good person does you wrong, act as though you had not noticed it. ..."
• "If a man or woman is born ten years sooner or later, their whole aspect ..."

• "If a man writes a book, let him set down only what he knows. I ..."
• "If any many wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear ..."
• "If any wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in ..."
• "If children grew up according to early indications, we should have nothing but geniuses. "
• "If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. "
• "If I love you, what does that matter to you! "
• "If I say to the moment: 'Stay now! You are so beautiful'! "
• "If you modestly enjoy your fame you are not unworthy to rank with the holy. "
• "If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have ..."
• "If you start to think of your physical and moral condition, you usually find that ..."
• "If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words. "
• "If your treat an individual... as if he were what he ought to be and ..."
• "Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago. "
• "In art the best is good enough. "
• "In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm... in the real world all rests ..."
• "It is better to be deceived by one's friends than to deceive them. "
• "It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on ..."
• "It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself. "
• "It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we ..."
• "It is the strange fate of man, that even in the greatest of evils the ..."
• "It seems to never occur to fools that merit and good fortune are closely united. "
• "Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live. "
• "Know thyself? If I knew myself I would run away. "
• "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. "
• "Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be ..."
• "Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. "
• "Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes. "
• "Life is the childhood of our immortality. "
• "Live dangerously and you live right. "
• "Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds. "
• "Love can do much, but duty more. "
• "Love does not dominate; it cultivates. "
• "Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen. "
• "Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is. "
• "Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end ..."
• "Mastery passes often for egotism. "
• "Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they translate into their own language ..."
• "Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable. "
• "My poor head is in such a whirl, my mind is all in bits. "
• "Mysteries are not necessarily miracles. "
• "Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction. "
• "No one has ever learned fully to know themselves. "
• "No one would talk much in society if they knew how often they misunderstood others. "
• "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. "
• "None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. "
• "Not the maker of plans and promises, but rather the one who offers faithful service ..."
• "Nothing is more fearful than imagination without taste. "
• "Nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action. "
• "Nothing is to be rated higher than the value of the day. "
• "Nothing is worth more than this day. "
• "Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at. "
• "Objects in pictures should so be arranged as by their very position to tell their ..."
• "On all the peaks lies peace. "
• "One always has time enough, if one will apply it well. "
• "One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude. "
• "One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste. "
• "One ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, ..."
• "Passions are vices or virtues to their highest powers. "
• "People are so constituted that everybody would rather undertake what they see others do, whether ..."
• "People have a peculiar pleasure in making converts, that is, in causing others to enjoy ..."
• "Personality is everything in art and poetry. "
• "Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is ..."
• "Precaution is better than cure. "
• "Reason can never be popular. Passions and feelings may become popular, but reason will always ..."
• "Science arose from poetry... when times change the two can meet again on a higher ..."
• "Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men. "
• "Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches ..."
• "Sowing is not as difficult as reaping. "
• "Strike the dog dead, it's but a critic! "
• "Superstition is the poetry of life. "
• "Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes ..."
• "Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life. "
• "Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Character is best formed in the stormy billows of ..."
• "Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity. "

• "The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, ..."
• "The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves. "
• "The biggest problem with every art is by the use of appearance to create a ..."
• "The Christian religion, though scattered and abroad will in the end gather itself together at ..."
• "The coward only threatens when he is safe. "
• "The credit of advancing science has always been due to individuals and never to the ..."
• "The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation. "
• "The deed is everything, the glory is naught. "
• "The deed is everything, the glory naught. "
• "The formation of one's character ought to be everyone's chief aim. "
• "The human mind will not be confined to any limits. "
• "The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything. "
• "The little man is still a man. "
• "The man who occupies the first place seldom plays the principal part. "
• "The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection. "
• "The mediator of the inexpressible is the work of art. "
• "The most happy man is he who knows how to bring into relation the end ..."
• "The most original of authors are not so because they advance what is new, but ..."
• "The people who are absent are the ideal; those who are present seem to be ..."
• "The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest ..."
• "The really unhappy person is the one who leaves undone what they can do, and ..."
• "The right man is the one who seizes the moment. "
• "The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. "
• "The unnatural, that too is natural. "
• "The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but ..."
• "The world remains ever the same. "
• "There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs ..."
• "There is no past that we can bring back by longing for it. There is ..."
• "There is nothing in the world more shameful than establishing one's self on lies and ..."
• "There is nothing in which people more betray their character than in what they laugh ..."
• "There is nothing more frightful than imagination without taste. "
• "They travel with a constant companion, autumn. "
• "Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the ..."
• "Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but less interesting than looking. "
• "This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those ..."
• "Those who hope for no other life are dead even for this. "
• "Three may keep counsel, if two are away. "
• "To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be torn from us. "
• "To create something you must be something. "
• "To hard necessity ones will and fancy must conform. "
• "To rule is easy, to govern difficult. "
• "To the person with a firm purpose all men and things are servants. "
• "To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods. "
• "Traveling is like gambling: it is always connected with winning and losing, and generally where ..."
• "Trust yourself, then you will know how to live. "
• "Unlike grown ups, children have little need to deceive themselves. "
• "Upon the creatures we have made, we are, ourselves, at last, dependent. "
• "We always have time enough, if we will but use it aright. "
• "We are forced to participate in the games of life before we can possibly learn ..."
• "We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves. "
• "We are never further from what we wish than when we believe that we have ..."
• "We can always redeem the man who aspires and strives. "
• "We can't form our children on our own concepts; we must take them and love ..."
• "We cannot fashion our children after our desires, we must have them and love them ..."
• "We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is ..."
• "We don't get to know people when they come to us; we must go to ..."
• "We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases. "
• "We will burn that bridge when we come to it. "
• "What by a straight path cannot be reached by crooked ways is never won. "
• "What I possess I would gladly retain. Change amuses the mind, yet scarcely profits. "
• "What is important in life is life, and not the result of life. "
• "What is my life if I am no longer useful to others. "
• "What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. "
• "What life half gives a man, posterity gives entirely. "
• "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and ..."
• "Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess. "
• "When ideas fail, words come in very handy. "
• "Whether a person shows themselves to be a genius in science or in writing a ..."
• "Who is the most sensible person? The one who finds what is to their own ..."
• "Who is the wisest man? He who neither knows or wishes for anything else than ..."
• "Whoever wishes to keep a secret must hide the fact that he possesses one. "
• "Wisdom is found only in truth. "
• "Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it; and a man becomes famous ..."