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
Those are dead even for this life who hope for no other.
He who seizes the right moment, is the right man
He who has a firm will molds the world to himself.
He who does not think too much of himself is much more esteemed than he imagines
He who does not know how to give himself an account of three thousand years may remain in the dark, inexperienced, and live from day to day
He who does not feel his friends to be the world to him, does not deserve that the world should hear of him.
Which government is the best? The one that teaches us to govern ourselves.
Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.
We cannot fashion our children after our desires, we must have them and love them as God has given them to us.
There are nine requisites for contented living: HEALTH enough to make work a pleasure; WEALTH enough to support your needs; STRENGTH enough to battle with difficulties and forsake them; GRACE enough to confess your sins and overcome them; PATIENCE enough to toil until some good is accomplished; CHARITY enough to see some good in your neighbor; LOVE enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others; FAITH enough to make real the things of God; HOPE enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.
There are two things parents should give their children: roots and wings. Roots to give them bearing and a sense of belonging, but also wings to help free them from constraints and prejudices and give them other ways to travel (or rather, to fly).
When I err every one can see it, but not when I lie
I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut.
It is not enough to have knowledge, one must also apply it. It is not enough to have wishes, one must also accomplish.