To speak of Johann Wolfgang Goethe is to speak of one of the greatest and most well-known German playwrights, poets and novelists and a great representative of Romanticism. His works are as well known worldwide as “Faust”, the biggest and most iconic of his plays, as well as novels like “Wilhelm Meister” or poems like “Prometheus”. In addition to his literary work, his scientific production in disciplines such as botany or his theory of colour is also noteworthy.

Throughout his life and work there have been many reflections by the author on different aspects of life, which we can see reflected in some of Goethe’s phrases that we will see here .

A selection of Goethe’s phrases

In the following lines you will find a series of large phrases by Goethe that allow us to see his 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 in the achievements of others means that we care about them and allows us to be happy without comparison or competition with the other.

2. It is not enough to know, it must also be applied. It is not enough to want, you must also do

The will and the desires are useless if we don’t do something to make them come true .

3. Man is made by his beliefs. As he believes, so he is

We behave on the basis of what we believe about ourselves, others, the world or reality. This is going to shape our way of being to a great extent.

4. There are only two lasting legacies we can hope to give our children. One is roots, the other is wings

Provenance, something to build on and the ability to explore the world is the only thing we will truly be able to bestow on our progeny. The rest is going to be modified or should not be forced but chosen freely.

5. Fidelity is the effort of a noble soul to equal another greater than itself

Fidelity is a value that is little implemented today, but it remains one of the most valued.

6. The only man who is never wrong is the one who never does anything

We all make mistakes, and this allows us to learn and grow.

7. Artist! Plasma! Don’t talk!

The author urges the artist to focus on the expression and expression of his inner self rather than just explaining it literally.

8. The sensitive man often laughs when there is nothing to laugh about. His inner well-being comes out whatever the motive is that stimulates him

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. To unite both things is only given to the purest love and friendship

The author establishes the difference between cohabiting and maintaining a true bond 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 removed at the end of the work. They are essential for the mason, who must not, however, take the scaffolding around the building

Goethe warns us to keep in mind that our hypotheses are only such a thing: although necessary they are only one way of approaching the truth, not necessarily the truth itself.

11. We cannot 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 children as they are , without trying to change them or adjust them to our expectations.

12. Magic is believing in yourself: if you can do that you can do anything

Believing in oneself is fundamental to achieving any challenge or goal.

13. The cruelest revenge is the contempt of all possible revenge

The author tells us that the worst possible revenge against someone is complete indifference to that someone and his actions, as well as not exercising any revenge and allowing the other to imagine.

14. Upon contact with a given color, it immediately synchronizes with the human spirit, producing a strong and important effect on the mood

This sentence refers to Goethe’s color theory, which linked the observation of each color with different moods .

15. Life belongs to the living, and the living must be prepared for changes

We must be willing to see and adapt to change. It’s one of Goethe’s most philosophical phrases.

16. Sometimes our destiny looks like a fruit tree in winter. Who would have thought that those branches would be green and blooming? But we hope and know that they will

We’re going to have some bad times in our lives, but they’ll all pass. Our destiny is not a straight line but a spiral.

17. Treat a man as he is, and he will remain what he is; treat him as he can and should be, and he will become what he can and should be

Goethe expressed the need to try to optimize and push the limits of both ourselves and others.

18. Everyone wants to be someone; no one wants to grow up

We often see and try to imitate others, instead of developing our own ways of being and acting.

19. The night is half of life, and the better half

In life there are both lights and shadows, and all of them (especially shadows) help us to learn and develop .

20. It is a big mistake to believe more than you are, or less than you are worth

We must be aware of our worth, without overestimating ourselves but without underestimating what we are really worth.

21. Misunderstanding and neglect create more confusion in the world than deception and evil. In any case, the latter two are much less frequent

Most problems are derived not from evil but from a lack of understanding of each other.

22. He who in the name of freedom renounces to be what he has to be, is a suicide on his feet

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, like life, is only deserved by those who know how to conquer it every day

Things are not free: freedom implies the responsibility to exercise it and to take responsibility for one’s own life. Only those who are able to do so will deserve it.

24. If everyone cleans their sidewalk, the street will be clean

The author reflects the importance of each of us doing what we are supposed to do.

25. Dangerous is the man who has nothing to lose

Having nothing to lose can lead to considering any option without fear of possible consequences, which can be dangerous depending on the context.

26. The most beautiful metempsychosis is the one 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.

28. Acting is easy, thinking is difficult; acting on thought is even more difficult

It is not so easy to act according to our beliefs when often the action required by those beliefs may be frowned upon, considered shameful or outdated, or generally judged by others.

29. Happy is he who gladly remembers his ancestors, who gladly speaks of their actions and their greatness, and who serenely rejoices to see himself at the end of such a beautiful row

The author reflects the importance of reflecting and admiring those who have gone before us and who have allowed us to be where we are.

30. Whatever you can or dream you can, start it. Daring possesses genius, power and magic. Start it now

The author encourages us to act to achieve our goals, rather than just thinking about them.

31. To live in the heart of those we have left is not to die

As long as someone remembers us, we’re not dead.

32. No one is more a slave than one who is free without being one

Many people who are subdued are so used to being subdued that they are unable to see it. This means that when they do not perceive it, they do not try to change their situation.

33. Do not dream small dreams because they have no power to move the heart of man

Our dreams must be ambitious , capable of motivating us to act.

34. Love and desire are the wings of the spirit of great deeds

Love is one of the forces that most moves and motivates us to live, giving us strength to achieve great goals.

35. Never give away what belongs to you, even if you throw it away or give it away

What is part of a person is always going to be part of them in some way, even though they may not want it with them.

36. He who finds peace in his home, whether king or villager, is of all human beings the happiest

Finding love and peace at home, having a warm refuge to live in and share, makes us feel a great well-being and happiness.

37. Love is not mastered, it is cultivated

The author points out that love is not possessiveness or an element to be mastered but an aspect to be watered, cared for and tried to grow.

38. No one knows what they are doing while acting right, but one is always aware of what is wrong

We are often aware of everything we do wrong and criticize ourselves for it. However, it is not so common for us to focus on what we do well, assuming that it is normal.

39. Evil is in your mind and not in the external. The pure mind always sees only the good in everything, but the bad mind takes care of inventing the evil

The author states 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 just and reasonable produces happy consequences, nor the absurd unfavorable consequences, but often the opposite happens

We do not always control the consequences of our actions, no matter what our intentions are. We may have good intentions and cause great suffering, or we may have bad intentions but end up doing someone else a great favor.

41. It is a great virtue for a calm man to hear all that is censored against him, in order to correct what is true and not to be upset by what is false

Criticism, though usually unwelcome, can help us to 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, confidence in the impossible, in the implausible

Having faith means betting on something we don’t know completely or are not sure about.

43. Bold ideas are like chess pieces that move forward. They can be beaten, but they can also start a winning game

Daring to do something can end up hurting us, but it can also allow us to achieve our most ambitious goals.

44. What I know, anyone can know; let my heart be in me alone

We can know many things, but what one feels is only of that person and no one will be able to equal or learn it.

45. Talent is cultivated in the calm; character is formed in the stormy waves of the world

Our personality and character are formed by learning from experiences, including painful ones (which, however, make us learn and grow).

46. It always takes away from each person enough strength to achieve what he is convinced of

Our convictions and beliefs move us at a deep level, making us capable of drawing strength from our weaknesses in order to act and achieve what we consider to be just.

47. Making a crown is much easier than finding a head worth wearing

Power is hard to carry, and in many cases it can be difficult to find someone worthy of it.

48. Men rich in tears are good. Depart from anyone whose heart is dry and whose eyes are dry

A person’s sensitivity can tell us what he or she has inside . Crying is not bad but an expression of one’s emotions. On the contrary, someone who does not react can never be indifferent and detached from what is happening.

49. Cemeteries are full of essential men

No one is indispensable.

50. A great sacrifice is easy; those that are difficult are the continuous small sacrifices

A great deal of effort or suffering can hurt, but it does not cost much to go through it on a particular occasion. However, making small sacrifices continuously is much more exhausting 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 way that is 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 a thousand curls, even if you put on heels one elbow high, you will still be what you are

This sentence is meant to emphasize the fact that we are as we are and we should not hide it or pretend otherwise .

53. Madness, sometimes, is nothing but reason presented under a different form

Mere acts that are not understood but are carried out correctly and with a correct interpretation of the situation are often considered to be madness.

54. Happy is he who recognizes in time that his wishes are not in accordance with his faculties

Recognizing one’s own limits allows us to adjust our expectations and desires so that we can achieve them.

55. Lazy people always talk about what they are going to do, what they will do; those who really do something have no time to talk about it or what they do

Doing things for real takes time and effort, which is not spent by those who just promise.

56. It is true that in the workshop of thought it happens as in the masterpiece of a weaver, where a single impulse moves at the same time a thousand threads. The shuttle is set in motion, goes up and down, and in a single stroke gives rise to a thousand wefts

Each thought or phenomenon can generate an effect on the whole system and make a great deal of alternatives, new thoughts and considerations appear. Every little idea can generate thousands more of them.

57. Hatred is a grave weight that sinks the heart into the depths of the chest and is fixed like a sepulchral stone above all joys

The author expresses what hatred means and its effect in hindering joy and happiness.

58. A man does not learn to understand anything unless he loves it

We are only able to understand what we love.

59. The labors 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 because it has an end, suffering allows us to appreciate the good things in life because we can run out of them.

60. The pigeon protests against the air, not 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 daily lives.

61. What you don’t start today is never finished tomorrow

Procrastinating means that we can never start or finish anything , prolonging the end of our acts.

62. When I have been working all day, a good evening comes my way

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 sincere, 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 identify with any of the existing options.

64. Youth want to be stimulated rather than taught

What young people need is not to be just taught, but to be motivated to discover things and to see the world. One of Goethe’s phrases with a clear moral character

65. The man with enough vision to admit his limitations comes closest to perfection

There is no such thing as a perfect human being. But being able to recognize this fact and the aspects that make us limited allows us to come closer to the ideal of perfection.

66. Boredom is a weed, but it is also a spice that makes you digest many things

Being bored is not pleasant, but it allows time to think and reflect.

67. The human spirit advances continuously, but always in a spiral

We don’t move forward all the time. We often go back and it is often necessary to go back in order to move forward.

68. We will not ask if we fully agree, but only if we march along 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 in a similar way to one’s own.

69. Great passions are incurable diseases. What could cure them would make them truly dangerous

Passion can be lived as something that agitates us and in which we are very involved. 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

In this sentence, the author talks about what beauty and its appreciation means.