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
<< Prev Next >>
Nothing hurts a new truth more than an old error
Mediocrity has no greater consolation than in the thought that genius is not immortal
Man errs as long as he strives
Man cannot persist long in a conscious state, he must throw himself back into the unconscious, for his root lives there
Man can only endure a certain degree of unhappiness; what is beyond that either annihilates him or passes by him and leaves him apathetic
Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished
Life teaches us to be less harsh with ourselves than with others
Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together
In every artist there is a touch of audacity without which no talent is conceivable
In all things it is better to hope than to despair
Search
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