The best 70 phrases of Goethe, father of German Romanticism
Speaking of Johann Wolfgang Goethe is talking about one of the greatest and best-known German playwrights, poets and novelists and great representative of romanticism. His works are as world-renowned as "Faust", the biggest and most iconic of his plays, as well as novels such as "Wilhelm Meister" or poems such as "Prometheus". In addition to literary level also highlights its scientific production in disciplines such as botany or its theory of color.
Throughout his life and work have been multiple reflections of the author on different aspects of life, which we can see reflected in some of Goethe's phrases that we will see here .
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A selection of Goethe phrases
In the following lines you will find a series of large Goethe phrases that let us see your point of view regarding various aspects of life that are part of our reality.
1. The happiest man in the world is one who knows how to recognize the merits of others and can rejoice in the good of others as if it were his own
Being able to truly rejoice over the achievements of others implies that we care and allow us to be happy without there being a comparison or competition with the other.
2. It is not enough to know, it must also be applied. Willing is not enough, one must also do
The will and the desires are useless if we do not do something to turn them into reality .
3. Man is made by his beliefs. As he believes, that's how it is
We behave based on what we believe about ourselves, others, the world or reality. This will shape our way of being to a large extent.
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4. There are only two lasting legacies that we can expect to give our children. One of them are roots, the other wings
Provenance, something to be based on and the ability to explore the world is the only thing we are truly going to be able to give to our progeny. The rest will be modified or it should not be forced but chosen freely.
5. Fidelity is the effort of a noble soul to equal another greater than her
Fidelity is a value little taken into practice today, but it is still one of the most valued.
6. The only man who never makes a mistake is the one who never does anything
We are all wrong, and this allows us to learn and grow.
7. Artist! Plasma! Do not speak!
The author exhorts the artist to focus on the expression and expression of his interior instead of just explaining them literally.
8. The man given to the sensible laughs often when there is nothing to laugh about. Your inner well-being comes to light no matter what the mobile that stimulates it
People who feel good about themselves are able to radiate that well-being in a wide range of situations, even if there is no reason to do so.
9. There is a difference between living with someone and living in them. There are men in whom you can live without living with them, and vice versa. Uniting both things is only given to the purest love and friendship
The author establishes the difference between cohabiting and maintaining a true relationship between people, as well as the difficulty of doing both at the same time.
10. The hypotheses are scaffolds that are placed in front of the building and are removed at the end of the works. They are essential for the mason, who however must not take the scaffolding for the building
Goethe warns us to keep in mind that our hypotheses are just such a thing: although necessary, they are only a way of approaching the truth, not necessarily the truth itself.
11. We can not model our children according to our desires, we must be with them and love them as God has given them to us
This phrase pushes us to accept the children as they are , without trying to change them or adjust them to our expectations.
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12. The magic is to believe in yourself: if you can do that you can do anything
Believing in oneself is fundamental to achieve any challenge or objective.
13. The cruelest revenge is the contempt of every possible revenge
The author tells us that the worst possible revenge against someone is the complete indifference towards that someone and his actions, besides not exerting any revenge and allowing the other to imagine.
14. When coming into contact with a certain color, it immediately synchronizes with the human spirit, producing a decisive and important effect on the mood
This phrase refers to Goethe's theory of color, which linked the observation of each color with different moods .
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15. Life belongs to the living, and the living must be prepared for the changes
We must be willing to see and adapt to the changes.It is one of Goethe's most philosophical phrases.
16. Sometimes our destiny resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches will green and blossom? But we hope so and we know that this will be
In our life we will go through bad times, but all of them will end up happening. Our destiny is not a straight line but a spiral.
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17. Treat a man as he is, and he will remain what he is; treat it as it can and should be and it will become what it can and should be
Goethe expresses the need to try to optimize and take beyond our limits both to ourselves and to others.
18. Everyone wants to be someone; nobody wants to grow
We tend to see and try to imitate others, instead of developing our own ways of being and acting.
19. Night is half of life, and the best half
In life there are both lights and shadows, and all of them (especially shadows) they help us learn and develop .
20. It is a big mistake to believe yourself more than you are, or less than what one is worth
We must be aware of our value, without exceeding our assessment but without getting below what we really are worth.
21. Misunderstandings and negligence create more confusion in the world than deception and evil. In any case, these last two are much less frequent
Most problems are derived not from evil but from lack of understanding of each other.
22. Whoever, in the name of freedom, renounces being the one who has to be, is a suicidal person standing
This phrase indicates that we need to be ourselves to be truly free, not having to give up who we are if we want to be happy.
23. Freedom as life, only deserves who knows how to conquer it every day
Things are not free: freedom assumes the responsibility to exercise it and take responsibility for one's own life. Only who is able to do it will deserve it.
24. If everyone cleans their sidewalk, the street will be clean
The author reflects the importance of each one of us doing what he likes to do.
25. Dangerous is the man who has nothing to lose
Having nothing to lose can lead you to consider any option without fear of possible consequences, which can be dangerous depending on the context.
26. The most beautiful metempsychosis is that in which we see ourselves appearing again in others
Goethe refers to the beauty we can find in seeing part of ourselves in those around us.
27. The important thing is not to do new things, but to do them as if no one had ever done them before.
Practically Everything we think or do has been thought or done before . The important thing is not to be the first, but to do them with passion and discover them for ourselves.
- Maybe you're interested: "Cryptomnesia: when your brain plagiarizes itself"
28. Acting is easy, thinking is difficult; Acting as you think is even harder
It is not so easy to act according to our beliefs when often the action that would require these can be frowned upon, considered shameful or outdated or in general judged by others.
29. Blessed is he who remembers with pleasure his ancestors, who gladly speaks of his actions and his greatness and who serenely rejoices seeing himself at the end of such a beautiful line
The author reflects the importance of reflecting and admiring those who preceded us and who have allowed us to be where we are.
30. Whatever you can or what you can dream, start it. The atrevemient have intelligent, power and magic. Start it now
The author urges us to act to achieve our goals, instead of just thinking about them.
31. To live in the hearts of those we have left is not to die
As long as someone remembers us, we will not have died.
32. Nobody is more enslaved than the one who considers himself free without being
Many people who are subjected are so accustomed to being so that they are unable to see it. This means that by not perceiving it, do not try to change your situation.
33. Do not dream small dreams because they have no power to move the heart of man
Our dreams must be ambitious , able to motivate us to act.
34. Love and desire are the wings of the spirit of great deeds
It is love one of the forces that moves us most and motivates us to live, giving us the strength to achieve great goals.
35. One never gives away what belongs to him, even if he throws it away or gives it away
What is part of a person will always be part of it in some way, although this may not want him.
36. He who finds peace in his home, whether king or villager, is the happiest of all human beings
Finding love and peace in the home, having a warm refuge in which to live and share, makes us feel great well-being and happiness.
37. Love is not mastered, it is cultivated
The author tells us that love is not possessiveness or an element to dominate but an aspect that has to be watered, taken care of and tried to grow.
38. Nobody knows what they do while acting correctly, but what is wrong is always conscious
Frequently we are aware of everything we do wrong and criticize ourselves for it.However, it is not usually so usual that we look at what we do well, assuming that it is normal.
39. The evil is in your mind and not in the external. The pure mind always sees only the good in everything, but the bad one is in charge of inventing the evil
The author expresses that we often see what we want to see and if not, we create it to match what we expect.
40. What we do has consequences. But not always the fair and reasonable produces happy consequences, nor the absurd unfavorable consequences, but often happens the opposite
We do not always control the consequences of our actions, regardless of what our intentions are. We can have good intentions and generate great suffering, or have bad intentions but end up doing a great favor to another person.
41. It is a great virtue of serene man to hear everything that is censored against him, to correct what is true and not to be disturbed by what is a lie
Criticism, although usually unwanted, can help us improve those things that can be improved. As for those that are not true, they can be totally ignored.
42. Faith is love of the invisible, trust in the impossible, in the improbable
Having faith means betting on something that we do not know at all or that we are not sure of.
43. Bold ideas are like pieces of chess that move forward. They can be defeated, but they can also start a victorious game
Daring to something can end badly and hurt us, but it can also allow us to reach our most ambitious goals.
44. What I know, anyone can know; permi heart I have it only me
Knowing we can know many, but what one feels is only that person and nobody will be able to match or learn it.
45. Talent is cultivated in calmness; the character is formed in the stormy waves of the world
Our personality and character are formed by learning from experiences, including painful ones (which make us learn and grow, however).
46. There always remains enough strength for each to achieve what he is convinced of
Our convictions and beliefs move us to a deep level, being able to make us able to draw strength from weakness to achieve action and reach what we consider fair.
47. Making a crown is much easier than finding a head worthy of wearing it
Power is difficult to carry, and in many cases it can be difficult to find someone worthy of it.
48. Men rich in tears are good. Keep away from everyone who has a dry heart and dry eyes
The sensitivity of a person can tell us what he keeps inside . Crying is not bad but is an expression of one's emotions. By cons, whoever does not react can never be indifferent and disconnected with respect to what happens.
49. The cemeteries are full of essential men
Nobody is essential.
50. A great sacrifice is easy; those that are difficult are the continuous small sacrifices
A great effort or punctual suffering can hurt, but it does not take much to go through it on a specific occasion. However making small sacrifices continuously is much more draining and painful, accumulating its effects and persisting over time.
51. A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart
Again, we are told that we usually observe the world in a manner consistent with what we think and feel about it.
52. You are, after all, what you are. Even if you put on a wig with thousands of curls, even if you wear high-heeled heels, you'll still be what you are
This phrase aims to emphasize the fact that we are what we are and we should not hide it or pretend otherwise .
53. The madness, sometimes, is not another thing that the reason presented under different form
Often they are considered follies to mere acts not understood but that are carried out correctly and interpreting the situation correctly.
54. Happy the one who recognizes in time that his desires do not go according to his faculties
Recognizing one's limits allows us to adjust our expectations and desires so that we can achieve them.
55. Lazy people always talk about what they plan to do, what they will do; those who really do something do not have time to talk or what they do
Doing things really takes time and effort, which is not used by those who simply promise.
56. It is true that in the workshop of thought occurs as in the masterpiece of a weaver, where a single impulse moves at the same time a thousand threads. The shuttle starts, goes up and down and in one fell swoop leads to a thousand frames
Each thought or phenomenon can generate an effect in the whole system and make appear a great amount of alternatives, new thoughts and considerations. Every little idea can generate thousands more of it.
57. Hate is a serious weight that sinks the heart into the depths of the chest and is fixed like a tombstone over all the joys
The author expresses what it means to hate and its effect when it comes to hindering happiness and happiness.
58. A man does not learn to understand anything unless he loves him
We are only able to understand what we love.
59. The hardships of life teach us only to appreciate the goods of life
Just as the existence of death allows us to appreciate the value of life as it has an end, suffering allows us to appreciate the good things that life has to be able to remain without them.
60. The pigeon protests against the air, without realizing that it is the only thing that allows it to fly
We often protest against aspects and elements that we consider annoying but that in fact help us and allow us to act in our day to day.
61. What is not started today never ends tomorrow
Procrastinating means we can never start or finish anything , prolonging the completion of our actions.
- Maybe you're interested: "Procrastination or the syndrome of" I'll do it tomorrow ": what it is and how to prevent it"
62. When I've been working all day, a good sunset comes to me
The author refers to the value of work and the satisfaction that comes from knowing a job well done.
63. I can promise to be honest, but not impartial
Impartiality is complicated, if not impossible, because we are subject to interests, cognitions, identifications or other elements that make it difficult not to be identified with any of the existing options.
64. Youth want to be stimulated better than educated
What youth need is not to be taught without more, but to be motivated to discover things and see the world. One of Goethe's phrases with a clear moral character.
65. The man with enough vision to admit his limitations is closer to perfection
There is no perfect human being. But the fact of being able to recognize this fact and the aspects that make us limited allows us to get closer to the ideal of perfection.
66. Boredom is a weed, but also a spice that makes many things digest
Being bored is not pleasant, but it allows time to think and reflect.
67. The human spirit advances continuously, but always spiraling
We do not move continuously. Often we go back and it is frequent that this is necessary to be able to continue advancing.
68. We will not ask if we fully agree, but only if we follow the same path
It is not likely to have an opinion identical to that of others, but to take into account whether our goals, beliefs and thoughts are going the same way or similarly to our own.
69. Great passions are incurable diseases. What could cure them would make them truly dangerous
Passion can be experienced as something that shakes us and in what we are very involved. The censorship of these passions can be dangerous and destroy part of our way of being.
70. Beauty is a manifestation of the secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever.
The author speaks to us in this sentence of what beauty supposes and its appreciation.
