64 Quotes by Goethe

Ich mögte beten wie Moses im Koran: Herr mache mir Raum in meiner engen Brust.

Then indecision brings its own delays, And days are lost lamenting over lost days. Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute; What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

I hate everything that merely instructs me without augmenting or directly invigorating my activity

Ein Teil von jener Kraft, die stets das Böse will und stets das Gute schafft. -Goethe-

I am the spirit of perpetual negation. (Mephistopheles)

CHORUSGird thee for the high endeavor;Shun the crowd’s ignoble ease!Fails the spirit never,Wise to think, and prompt to seize.Goethe, Faust, Part II, act 1, 50–53

Ah! două suflete-s în mine! Cum se zbatÎn piept să nu mai locuiască împreună! Unul de lumestrâns mă ţine, încleştat; cu voluptate, celălaltputernic către cereşti limanuri mă îndrumă.

If you had swum across the furthest oceanAnd seen the vastness of infinityThough dread of death might seize you, you'd still seeThe rolling waves in never-ceasing motionYou'd still see something: Schools of dolphins swimmingAcross the green and placid waters, skimmingThe clouds, the sun and the moon, stars overhead -You will see nothing in that void all roundYou will not hear your footsteps where you treadBeneath your feet, you'll feel no solid ground

nothing is more frightful than to see ignorance in action