"All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, until they take root in our personal experience."
JO
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
43 quotes
Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"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."
"Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in even greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires: beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go."
"The mediator of the inexpressible is the work of art."
"To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods."
"By seeking and blundering we learn."
"In art the best is good enough."
"If you've never eaten while crying you don t know what life tastes like."
"The biggest problem with every art is by the use of appearance to create a loftier reality."
"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes."
"If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be."
"It is after all the greatest art to limit and isolate oneself."
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings."
"Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in even greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires: beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go."
"Es ist nicht genug, zu wissen, man muß auch anwenden; es ist nicht genug, zu wollen, man muß auch tun."
"Truth has to be repeated constantly, because Error also is being preached all the time, and not just by a few, but by the multitude. In the Press and Encyclopaedias, in Schools and Universities, everywhere Error holds sway, feeling happy and comfortable in the knowledge of having Majority on its side."
"Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds."
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
"If you would create something,you must be something."
"At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you."