The heights charm us, but the steps do not; with the mountain in our view we love to walk the plains.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHEEvery reader, if he has a strong mind, reads himself into the book, and amalgamates his thoughts with those of the author.
More Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes
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On top of the world, or in the depths of despair.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Know thyself? If I knew myself, I’d run away.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
By seeking and blundering we learn.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Is this the destiny of man? Is he only happy before he has acquired his reason or after he has lost it?
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
There is no past we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternal now that builds and creates out of the past something new and better.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him, he must regard himself as greater than he is.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Love does not dominate; it cultivates.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Oblivion is full of people who allow the opinions of others to overrule their belief in themselves.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
I love those who yearn for the impossible.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
A really great talent finds its happiness in execution.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Few people have the imagination for reality.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
I have possessed that heart, that noble soul, in whose presence I seemed to be more than I really was, because I was all that I could be.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
To be loved for what one is, that is the greatest exception. The great majority love in others only what they lend him; their own selves, their version of him.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Every day one should at least hear one little song, read one good poem, see one fine painting and – if at all possible – speak a few sensible words.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
We know accurately only when we know little; doubt grows with knowledge.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
And all must follow in my wake.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE -
Every day I observe more and more the folly of judging of others by ourselves; and I have so much trouble with myself, and my own heart is in such constant agitation, that I am well content to let others pursue their own course, if they only allow me the same privilege.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE