Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann WolfgangGoethetə/; German: ; 28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth28 August 1749
CountryGermany
To make an epoch in the world, two conditions are manifestly essential-a good head and a great inheritance.
People will allow their faults to be shown them; they will let themselves be punished for them; they will patiently endure many things because of them; they only become impatient when they have to lay them aside.
A man's foibles are what makes him lovable.
Man must strive, and striving he must err.
Do the duty which lies nearest to thee.
Can a sparrow know how a stork feels?
Try novelties for salesman's bait, For novelty wins everyone.
Thank God when He lays a burden on thee, and thank Him when He takes it off.
If you treat men the way they are you never improve them. If you treat them the way you want them to be, you do.
Do people conform to the instructions of us old ones? Each thinks he must know best about himself, and thus many are lost entirely.
Against great advantages in another, there are no means of defending ourselves except love.
Whoever aspiring, struggles on, for him there is salvation.
The artist who is not also a craftsman is no good; but, alas, most of our artists are nothing else.
Some books seem to have been written, not to teach us anything, but to let us know that the author has known something.