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
No, no! The devil is an egotist, And is not apt, without why or wherefore, "For God's sake," others to assist. [Ger., Nein, nein! Der Teufel ist ein Egoist Und thut nicht leicht um Gottes Willen, Was einem Andern nutzlich ist.]
Culture which smooth the whole world licks, Also unto the devil sticks.
Faust: Who holds the devil, let him hold him well, He hardly will be caught a second time.
The march of intellect, which licks all the world into shape, has even reached the devil.
I know nothing more mocking than a devil that despairs.
Publishers are all cohorts of the devil; there must be a special hell for them somewhere.
If all these devils really exist it proves there must be angels, too.
When toward the Devil's Hose we tread, Woman's a thousand steps behind. [Ger., Denn geht es zu des Bosen Haus Das Weib hat tausend Schritt voraus.]
We are our own devils; we drive ourselves out of our Edens.
When all is said the greatest action is to limit and isolate one's self.
I've studied now Philosophy and Jurisprudence, Medicine - and even, alas! Theology - from end to end with labor keen; and here, poor fool with all my lore I stand, no wiser than before.
I've studied now Philosophy and Jurisprudence, Medicine -- and even, alas! Theology -- from end to end with labor keen; and here, poor fool with all my lore I stand, no wiser than before.
The right man is the one that seizes the moment.
There would be far less suffering in the world if human beings-God knows why they are made like this-did not use their imaginations so busily in recalling the memories of past misfortunes, instead of trying to bear an indifferent present.