Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust, German literature
Sayings by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Against the great superiority of another, there is no rescue but love.
One must be a complete person to be able to love another completely.
Man is made to believe, and to be deceived.
The true man of science is he who gives importance to the little, because he sees the greatness of the great in it.
Only those who know how to suffer can understand everything.
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.
What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities; but to know someone who thinks and feels with us, and who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth an inhabited garden.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
The greatest respect an author can have for his readers is to give them the best he has.
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.
Character is formed in the stormy waves of the world.
The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
One never goes so far as when one does not know where one is going.
Man is not born to solve the problems of the universe, but to find out what he has to do in order to limit himself to the limits of his comprehension.
The beautiful is a manifestation of secret laws of nature, which, but for this appearance, would have remained hidden from us.
Every artist is a king.
The highest happiness of man is to have found out what he is to do, and to do it.
Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.