Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Germany
28 Aug 1749 // 22 Mar 1832
Poet / Novelist / Humanist / Scientist / Philosopher
28 Aug 1749 // 22 Mar 1832
Poet / Novelist / Humanist / Scientist / Philosopher
Quotes
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Hatred is active, and envy passive dislike; there is but one step from envy to hate
Happiness is a ball after which we run wherever it rolls, and we push it with our feet when it stops
Girls we love for what they are; young men for what they promise to be
Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity
For just when ideas fail, a word comes in to save the situation
For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is
First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth
Few people have the imagination for reality
Everything in the world may be endured except continual prosperity
Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays
Essays