I leave you the best phrases of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theater director, critic and amateur artist, considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era.
His literary works include The Sorrows of Young Werther, Prometheus, Wilhelm Meister's Learning Years, Faust, Elective Affinities, East and West Divan, among others.
You may also be interested in these phrases from writers or these from famous books.
-The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes.
-Don't dream little dreams because they have no power to move the heart of man.
-Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and putting your thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.
-I love those who crave the impossible.
-If you treat an individual as if he were what he should be and could be, he will become what he should be and could be.
-There are only two lasting legacies that we can hope to give to our children. One of them are roots, the other, wings.
-As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
-To create something you must be something.
-Life is the childhood of our immortality.
-Thinking is easy; act, difficult; transforming thoughts into actions is the most difficult thing.
-We all have more than enough time, if we could use it well.
-Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can do anything.
-Love and desire are the wings of the spirit for great deeds.
-Every day we should listen to at least one little song, read a good poem, see an exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.
-Knowing is not enough; We must apply. Wanting is not enough; we have to do.
-The correction does a long time, but the stimulus does more.
-Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.
-The human mind is not limited to any limit.
-Everyone wants to be someone; nobody wants to grow.
-The best government is the one that teaches us to govern ourselves.
-Character develops in the stream of life.
-The behavior is the mirror in which each one shows his image.
-Talent is nurtured in solitude; character is formed in the stormy waves of the world
-None is more enslaved than those who falsely believe themselves free.
-Man only knows himself by action.
-Being brilliant is not a great feat if you don't respect anything.
-You are, after all, what you are. Even if you wear a wig with thousands of curls, even if you wear an elbow high heels, you will still be what you are.
-Wisdom is found only in truth.
-A useless life is an early death.
-A person hears only what he understands.
-The genius is a meeting of forces of nature.
-It is happy, whether king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.
-He who does not think much of himself is much more appreciated than he imagines.
-A great sacrifice is easy; it is the continual small sacrifices that are difficult.
-Character is formed in the stormy waves of the world.
-If the law has force, scarcity has more force.
-In the field of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm, in the real world everything is based on perseverance.
-Nothing is worth more than today.
-The man is made by his beliefs. As he believes, so it is.
-Common sense is the genius of humanity.
-Where there are no women there are no good manners.
-What has not started today never ends tomorrow.
-War, trade and piracy are an inseparable trinity.
-The man who feels fear without danger, invents the danger to justify his fear.
-Don't give too much to feelings. An overly sensitive heart is an unhappy possession in this unstable land.
-The soul that sees beauty can sometimes walk alone.
-If you want to know the mind of a man, listen to his words.
-We need everything when we lack ourselves.
-Caution is better than cure.
-There is nothing so terrible as activity without vision.
-Sowing is not as difficult as harvesting.
-The greatest wealth of man consists in having a spirit great enough not to desire wealth.
-The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man almost nothing.
-The person who is born with a talent that he is destined to use, will find his greatest happiness in its use.
-All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is to try to think them again.
-Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever.
-Let everyone sweep in front of their own door, and everyone will be clean.
-The man with enough vision to admit his limitations is closer to perfection.
-Many people do not take care of their money until it is near the end, and others do the same with their time.
-Every beginning has its magic.
-What is important in life is life, and not the result of life.
-The just man is the one who seizes the moment.
-Ignorant men ask questions that the sages answered a thousand years ago.
-Doubt grows with knowledge.
-I call architecture frozen music.
-A correct answer is like a loving kiss.
-What you cannot understand, you cannot possess.
-The error is acceptable while we are young; but do not drag it into old age.
-The coward only threatens when he is safe.
-A noble person attracts noble people, and knows how to hold on to them.
-Personality is everything in art and poetry.
-We know with precision only when we know little, with knowledge doubt grows.
-Love does not dominate; cultivate.
-Take advantage of the time that flies so fast, order will teach you to save time.
-All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life sprouts always green.
-Also from the stones that you stumble across on the way, you can build something beautiful.
-Who wants to take safe steps, has to take them little by little.
-Don't travel to get there, travel to travel.
-The limits of my language are the limits of my universe.
-A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
-Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask of God.
-Superstition is the poetry of life.
-To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods.
-Nothing should be ranked higher than the value of the day.
-We must renounce our existence to truly exist.
-Love can do much, but duty more.
-Although the must ferments unpredictably, in the end it will have to give wine.
-Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest.
-Happy the one who recognizes in time that his wishes are not in accordance with his faculties.
-Go to foreign countries and you will know the good things you have at home.
-The most pleasant societies are those in which there is a serene mutual respect among their members.
-The lazy people always talk about what they plan to do, what they will do; those who really do something don't have time to talk or what they do.
-A person places himself at the height of those he praises.
-Let's not ask if we fully agree, but only if we go the same way.
-Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but less interesting than looking.
-Fate grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.
-In this life there are few moments that are resolved with a yes or a no.
-There is nothing insignificant in the world. Everything depends on the point of view.
-The populace never notices the presence of the devil, even when it has already caught it by the neck.
-All things are only transitory.
-A great talent finds happiness in execution.
-Nothing is more terrible than seeing ignorance in action.
-The evil is only in your mind and not externally. The pure mind always sees only the good in everything, but the bad is in charge of inventing the bad.
-Some defects are necessary for the existence of individuality.
-The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.
-Fresh activity is the only way to overcome adversity.
-Be generous with kind words, especially about those who are absent.
-Live dangerously and you live correctly.
-A sensible word atrophies in a hard ear.
-The mysteries are not necessarily miracles.
-For two to love each other, just separate them.
-The little man is still a man.
-Many men are never wrong because they do not propose anything reasonable.
-It is preached against many vices, but I don't know of anyone who has preached against bad humor.
-What is taken for intelligence is usually vanity and foolishness.
-What matters most should never be at the mercy of what matters less.
-Since I am around people all day and I see what they do and how they work, I am much happier with myself.
-And so I continue running after this vague shadow, until it leads me to the edge of the abyss, where I stop in terror.
-There is a strong shadow where there is a lot of light.
-When you are young, you are sure you can build palaces for humanity, but when the time comes, you have your hands available just to take out your garbage.
- Patriotism is the ruin of history.
-All poetry is supposed to be instructive but in an imperceptible way.
-As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
-A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
-Everything transitory is nothing more than a simple image.
-One mind is enough for a thousand hands.
-I have often heard that a preacher could learn a lot from a teacher comedian.
-If I love you, does that matter to you?
-We do not have to visit a madhouse to find mental disorders; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.
-Wood burns because it has the appropriate material; and a man becomes famous because he has the right abilities.
-Whoever wants to keep a secret must hide the fact that they have one.
-Only through joy and pain a person learns something about himself and his destiny. Learn what to do and what to avoid.
-Where is the man who has the strength to be authentic and show himself what he is like?
-He who has art and science has religion. He who does not have them, needs religion.
-The letters are among the most significant memories that a person can leave behind.
-There is nothing in the world more shameful than settling in lies and fables.
-The common man is still a man.
-The passions are vices or virtues in their maximum powers.
-The one who asks that a task be done must be able to take sides, or he is not worthy of it.
-No one has ever learned to know himself.
-Each person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill.
-The credit of the advancement of science has always been thanks to individuals and never to time.
-Know yourself? If she knew me, she would run away.
-Personal knowledge comes from meeting other men.
-We are never further from what we want, than when we believe we have what we want.
-Everything in the world can endure, except continued prosperity.
-Nothing is more terrible than seeing ignorance in action.
-The evil is only in your mind and not externally. The pure mind always sees the good in everything, but the bad is in charge of inventing the evil.
-Some defects are necessary for the existence of individuality.
-The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.
-Fresh activity is the only way to overcome adversity.
-Be generous with kind words, especially about those who are absent.
-Live dangerously and you live correctly.
-A sensible word atrophies in a hard ear.
-The mysteries are not necessarily miracles.
-For two to love each other, just separate them.
-The little man is still a man.
-Many men are never wrong because they do not propose anything reasonable.
-It is preached against many vices, but I don't know of anyone who has preached against bad humor.
-What is taken for intelligence is usually vanity and foolishness.
-What matters most should never be at the mercy of what matters less.
-Since I am around people all day and I see what they do and how they work, I am much happier with myself.
-And so I continue running after this vague shadow, until it leads me to the edge of the abyss, where I stop in terror.
-There is a strong shadow where there is a lot of light.
-When you are young, you are sure you can build palaces for humanity, but when the time comes, you have your hands available just to take out your garbage.
- Patriotism is the ruin of history.
-All poetry is supposed to be instructive but in an imperceptible way.
-As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
-A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
-Everything transitory is nothing more than a simple image.
-One mind is enough for a thousand hands.
-I have often heard that a preacher could learn a lot from a teacher comedian.
-If I love you, does that matter to you?
-We do not have to visit a madhouse to find mental disorders; our planet is the mental institution of the universe.
-Wood burns because it has the appropriate material; and a man becomes famous because he has the right abilities.
-Whoever wants to keep a secret must hide the fact that they have one.
-Only through joy and pain a person learns something about himself and his destiny. Learn what to do and what to avoid.
-Where is the man who has the strength to be authentic and show himself what he is like?
-He who has art and science has religion. He who does not have them, needs religion.
-The letters are among the most significant memories that a person can leave behind.
-There is nothing in the world more shameful than settling in lies and fables.
-The common man is still a man.
-The passions are vices or virtues in their maximum powers.
-The one who asks that a task be done must be able to take sides, or he is not worthy of it.
-No one has ever learned to know himself.
-Each person above the ordinary has a certain mission that they are called to fulfill.
-The credit of the advancement of science has always been thanks to individuals and never to time.
-Know yourself? If she knew me, she would run away.
-Personal knowledge comes from meeting other men.
-We are never further from what we want than when we think we have what we want.
-Everything in the world can endure, except continued prosperity.
-Nothing is more terrible than a teacher who does not know what students should know.
-It has to come from the heart, what works in the heart.
-We are scared of our sins if we see them in others.
-You can't always be a hero, but you can always be a man.
-Sometimes you have to associate to fight, since you can learn more from each other.
-Where there is light, there are great shadows.
-Ingratitude is always a kind of weakness. I have never seen enterprising people to be ungrateful.
-If we require obligations from people and they are not granted any rights, they have to be paid well.
-It is a man to be wrong, as long as it is for what he was looking for.
-If the divine ever appeared on earth, it was in the person of Christ.
-Art is a mediator of the inexpressible.
-Our wishes are anticipations of the abilities that are within us, of that omen of what we will be able to pay.
-To resign you need character.
-Any solution to a problem is a new problem.
-There are many people who imagine what they learn.
-Everyone in the world depends on an ingenious idea and a firm decision.
-Flowers and hieroglyphs are the most beautiful words that nature gives us.
-In this new reality nothing is more damaging than an old mistake.
-All theory is gray, my friend. But always green is the tree of life.
-I treat my heart like a sick child and I satisfy every one of its fantasies.
-The vintage of history is always repeated, same old vines, old wines.
-The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too much.
-What you think you can do or think you can do, start it. The action has magic, power and grace.
-You can easily judge the character of a man by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
-Corage is the commitment to start without any guarantee of success.
-Nothing is more disgusting than most: because it consists of a pair of powerful predecessors, rogues who adapt, weaklings who assimilate, and masses who imitate without knowing at all what they want.
-If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; However, if I treat you as if you are what you can become, I help you transform into that.
-Why look for the conspiracy when stupidity can explain so much.
-Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make something happen.
-The way people see is the way they treat them, and the way they treat them is what they become.
-The flowers are full of honey, but only the bee learns of their sweetness.
-There are two things that parents owe their children, which are roots and wings. Roots to give them support and a sense of belonging, and wings to help free them from limitations and prejudices, and give them other ways of traveling.
-The correction does a long time, but the stimulus does more.
-We are formed and molded by what we like.
-Many people do not take care of their money until they reach the end, and others do the same with their time.
-Wisdom is found only in truth.
-To have more, you must be more first.
-The fortune day is like a harvest day, we must be busy when the corn is ripe.
-You never go as far as when you know where you are going.
-The man who becomes a teacher gives himself from the force that unites all creatures.
-After all, it is easier to die than to endure a harrowing life with strength.
-All extraordinary men, who have achieved great and surprising actions, at some point have been criticized by drunks and madmen.
-The misunderstandings and neglect cause more damage in the world than even malice and evil.
-Everyone lives in the past, and by the past they are destroyed.
-Against criticism, a man can neither protest nor defend himself; you must act in spite of it.
-Beauty can never understand itself.
-What a man does not understand, he does not possess.
-When intelligent and sensitive people despise knowledge in their old age, it is only because they have asked too much of it and of themselves.
-Painting and tattooing the body is a return to animality.