Philosophy Quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“Wherever a man may happen to turn, whatever a man may undertake, he will always end up by returning to the path which nature has marked out for him.”

“Character develops itself in the stream of life.”

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply!”

“If you must tell me your opinions, tell me what you believe in. I have plenty of doubts of my own.”

“If I love you, what business is it of yours?”

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

“In the storm of struggle, find your anchor; it is the relentless pursuit of passion that will guide you safely to shore.”

“NIHILIST, n. A Russian who denies the existence of anything but Tolstoi. The leader of the school is Tolstoi.”

“No one can erase or steal those sweetest memories of love.”

“It is not enough to show how clever we are by showing how obscure everything is".”

“Wisdom is being able to see the world for what it is, rather than what you want it to be.”

“Walking causes a repetitive, spontaneous poetry to rise naturally to the lips, words as simple as the sound of footsteps on the road. There also seems to be an echo of walking in the practice of two choruses singing a psalm in alternate verses, each on a single note, a practice that makes it possible to chant and listen by turns. Its main effect is one of repetition and alternation that St Ambrose compared to the sound of the sea: when a gentle surf is breaking quietly on the shore the regularity of the sound doesn’t break the silence, but structures it and renders it audible. Psalmody in the same way, in the to-and-fro of alternating responses, produces (Ambrose said) a happy tranquillity in the soul. The echoing chants, the ebb and flow of waves recall the alternating movement of walking legs: not to shatter but to make the world’s presence palpable and keep time with it. And just as Claudel said that sound renders silence accessible and useful, it ought to be said that walking renders presence accessible and useful.”