The best genius is that which absorbs and assimilates everything without doing the least violence to its fundamental destiny. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe More Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe More Quotes From Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Everyone believes in his youth that the world really began with him, and that all merely exists for his sake. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe educational philosophy believe So long as you live and work, you will be misunderstood; to that you must resign yourself once and for all. Be silent! Johann Wolfgang von Goethe misunderstood understanding long The man of understanding finds everything laughable. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe he-man understanding men Words express neither objects nor ourselves. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe objects silence People do not mind their faults being spread out before them, but they become impatient if called on to give them up. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mind giving people Flowers are the beautiful hieroglyphics of nature with which she indicates how much she loves us. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe garden flower beautiful The people rate strength before everything. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe rate strength people Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us; for by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very acknowledgment, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be on a level with it. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe levels freedom bears While man's desires and aspirations stir he cannot choose but err. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe aspiration desire men What is not fully understood is not possessed. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe understood understanding knowledge There is not a single outward mark of courtesy that does not have a deep moral basis. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe moral army doe One lives but once in the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe philosophy life world Man errs as long as he strives. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe men philosophy life The flowers of life are but illusions. How many fade away and leave no trace. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe fade-away illusion flower Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe anxious enough hope Ah! my poor brain is racked and crazed, My spirit and senses amazed! Johann Wolfgang von Goethe poor spirit brain There are situations in which hope and fear run together, in which they mutually destroy one another and lose themselves in dull indifference. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe anxiety together running Nothing will change the fact that I cannot produce the least thing without absolute solitude. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe innovation solitude facts Every man must form himself as a particular being, seeking, however, to attain that general idea of which all mankind are constituents. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe character men ideas Time is a strange thing. It is a whimsical tyrant, which in every century has a different face for all that one says and does. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe different-faces tyrants time
