Quote

To me the external existence of my soul is proved from my idea of activity. If I work incessantly until my death, nature will give me another form of existence when the present can no longer sustain my spirit.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Age: 82 †
Born: 1749
Born: August 22
Died: 1832
Died: March 22
Aphorist
Art Critic
Art Theorist
Autobiographer
Botanist
Composer
Diarist
Diplomat
Jurist
Lawyer
Librarian
Librettist
Literary
Frankfurt/Main
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Goethe
goethe
johann wolfgang von goethe
joh. wolfg. von goethe
j. w. von goethe
Another
External
Nature
Activity
Form
Longer
Give
Present
Soul
Existence
Ideas
Idea
Incessantly
Giving
Death
Sustain
Work
Spirit
Proved

More quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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It is not always needful for truth to take a definite shape it is enough if it hovers about us like a spirit and produces harmony if it is wafted through the air like the sound of a bell, grave and kindly.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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To appreciate the noble is a gain which can never be torn from us.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Riches amassed in haste will diminish but those collected by hand and little by little will multiply.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Man... knows only when he is satisfied and when he suffers, and only his sufferings and his satisfactions instruct him concerning himself, teach him what to seek and what to avoid. For the rest, man is a confused creature he knows not whence he comes or whither he goes, he knows little of the world, and above all, he knows little of himself.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Misunderstandings and neglect occasion more mischief in the world than malice and wickedness.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something done.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Voluntary dependence is the wonderful form of existence, and how could that be possible without love?
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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It is a maxim of wise government to treat people not as they should be but as they actually are.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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What we agree with leaves us inactive, but contradiction makes us productive.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Most pioneers are at the mercy of doubt at the beginning, whether of their worth, of their theories, or of the whole enigmatic field in which they labour.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Hatred is active displeasure, envy passive. We need not wonder that envy turns to soon to hatred.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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If I say to the moment: 'Stay now! You are so beautiful'!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Painting and tattooing the body is a return to animalism.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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As all Nature's thousands changes But one changeless God proclaim So in Art's wide kingdom ranges One sole meaning still the same: This is Truth, eternal Reason, Which from Beauty takes its dress, And serene through time and season Stands aye in loveliness.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Thus one can observe that those who proclaim piety as their goal and purpose usually turn into hypocrites.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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There is nothing new on earth / For a person who lives long and experiences much. / In my years of youthful wandering / I have seen crystallized people.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe