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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes

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Famous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Quotes

“Continue to make the demands of the day your immediate concern, and take occasion to test the purity of your hearts and the steadfastness of your spirits. When you then take a deep breath and rise above the cares of this world and in an hour of leisure, you will surely win the proper frame of mind to face devoutly what is above us, with reverence, seeing in all events the manifestation of a higher guidance.”

WorldMindHeartCareFacesSpiritWinningHoursAttitudeSeeingEventsThis WorldHigherDemandConcernTestsBreathsOccasionsGuidanceManifestationPurityReverenceLeisureRise AboveDeep BreathFrame Of MindTake A Deep BreathSteadfastness
Author:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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“The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his will upon nature, and freeing himself and his from an outrageous necessity--to see him taken up with some false notion, and doing just the opposite of what he wants to do; and then, because the whole bent of his mind is spoilt, bungling miserably over everything.”

MenWantMindWholePurposeTakenOppositesNotionSupremeGrievingBentOutrageousImposingSpoilt
Book:Maxims and Reflections
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“Men are so inclined to content themselves with what is commonest; the spirit and the senses so easily grow dead to the impressions of the beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to nourish in his mind the faculty of feeling these things. ...For this reason, one ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

IfsMenShouldMindLittlesReasonFeelingsBeautifulSpiritSongCultureSpeakGrowsPerfectStudyFineOughtMethodSensesImpressionReasonableFaculty
Author:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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“In all things, to serve from the lowest station upwards is necessary. To restrict yourself to a trade is best. For the narrow mind, whatever he attempts is still a trade; for the higher, an art; and the highest in doing one thing does all, or, to speak less paradoxically, in the one thing which he does rightly he sees the likeness of all that is done rightly.”

MindDoeArtStillsDoneSpeakOne ThingHigherHighestAll ThingsTradeStationsLowestNarrow MindsSpeak Less
Book:Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels
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“Lose the day loitering, 'twill be the same story To-morrow, and the next more dilatory, For indecision brings its own delays, And days are lost lamenting o'er lost days. Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute! What you can do, or think you can, begin it! Only engage, and then the mind grows heated; Begin it, and the work will be completed.”

ThinkingMindStoriesNextLostGrowsCan DoLosesMinutesDelayEarnestMorrowIndecision
Book:Faust, a Dramatic Mystery
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“Distance... is like futurity. A dim vastness is spread before our souls; the perceptions of our mind are as obscure as those of our vision... But alas! when we have attained our object, when the distant 'there' becomes the present 'here,' all is changed; we are as poor and circumscribed as ever, and our souls still languish for unattainable happiness.”

MindStillsSoulPoorVisionObjectsChangedPerceptionDistanceSpreadObscureAlasVastnessUnattainableLanguish
Book:The Sorrows of Young Werther (English German Edition, illustrated): Die Leiden des jungen Werther (Englisch Deutsch Ausgabe illustriert)
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“Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature herself.”

MindDifferentNatureBeautyCreativeDesignThousandReflectionVariousAppearanceVisiblePhenomenonSelf ReflectionUtteranceCreative MindPrimeval
Book:Conversations of Goethe with Johann Peter Eckermann
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“As for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet have not the slightest feeling for seclusion; for solitude, I maintain, when joined with a quiet contemplation of nature, a serene and conscious faith in creation and the Creator, and a few vexations from outside is the only school for a mind of lofty endowment.”

PeopleMindSoulCharacterFeelingsSchoolCertainCreationSolitudeQuietIntellectualConsciousClaimsLaysCreatorContemplationNobilityLoftySereneStatureStrength Of CharacterEndowmentSeclusionVexation
Book:Goethe's world view: presented in his reflections and maxims
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“Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always so composed, so full of wisdom, that we are able to take in at once the whole scope of a work according to its merits. Do we not mark in a book passages which seem to have a direct reference to ourselves? Young people especially, who have failed in acquiring a complete cultivation of mind, are roused in a praiseworthy way by brilliant passages.”

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Author:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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