“A free soul like his is in danger of becoming insolent unless noble goodwill restores the moral balance.”

Original: Eine freie Seele wie die seine kommt in Gefahr, frech zu werden, wenn nicht ein edles Wohlwollen das sittliche Gleichgewicht herstellt. — Freedom needs generosity and moral balance to prevent it from becoming arrogance. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Freedom
• Humility
• Morality

“The world demands a general education from us now; we therefore need not concern ourselves further with that. We must make the particular our own.”

Original: Eine allgemeine Ausbildung dringt uns jetzt die Welt ohnehin auf; wir brauchen uns deshalb darum nicht weiter zu bemühen, das Besondere müssen wir uns zueignen. — Goethe distinguishes broad education from the deeper task of developing individual knowledge and expertise. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Education
• Individuality
• Learning

“Whoever wants to make something great must have developed his education to such a degree that he can raise lesser reality to the height of his spirit.”

Original: Wer aber etwas Großes machen will, muß seine Bildung so gesteigert haben, daß er gleich den Griechen imstande sei, die geringere reale Natur zu der Höhe seines Geistes heranzuheben. — Goethe sees artistic greatness as the transformation of observed reality through cultivated intelligence. · Conversation with Johann Peter Eckermann, 20 October 1828 (German)

• Art
• Creation
• Education

“One must be something in order to make something.”

Original: Man muß etwas sein, um etwas zu machen. — Great creative work requires the inner development of the person who undertakes it. · Conversation with Johann Peter Eckermann, 20 October 1828 (German)

• Art
• Character
• Creation

“It is not enough to have talent. More is needed to become intelligent: one must live amid significant circumstances and see the forces of one's time at work.”

Original: Es ist nicht genug, daß man Talent habe. Es gehört mehr dazu, um gescheit zu werden. Man muß auch in großen Verhältnissen leben und Gelegenheit haben, den spielenden Figuren der Zeit in die Karten zu sehen und selber zu Gewinn und Verlust mitzuspielen. — Talent develops through experience of the wider world and active participation in its affairs. · Conversations with Johann Peter Eckermann (German)

• Experience
• Learning
• Talent

“It is not good for a person to be alone, and particularly not to work alone; participation and stimulation are needed if anything is to succeed.”

Original: Es ist nicht gut, daß der Mensch alleine sei, und besonders nicht, daß er alleine arbeite; vielmehr bedarf er der Teilnahme und Anregung, wenn etwas gelingen soll. — Goethe sees collaboration and human encouragement as essential to successful work. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Community
• Companionship
• Work

“The life of man is his character.”

Original: Die Geschichte des Menschen ist sein Character. — A person's life is understood as the unfolding expression of character through time. · Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (German)

• Biography
• Character
• Life

“The affairs of our lives follow a mysterious course that cannot be calculated.”

Original: Die Angelegenheiten unseres Lebens haben einen geheimnisvollen Gang, der sich nicht berechnen läßt. — Life resists complete prediction, leaving room for mystery and unforeseen change. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Fate
• Life
• Mystery

“Teaching accomplishes much, but encouragement accomplishes everything.”

Original: Lehre tut viel, aber Aufmunterung tut alles. — Goethe emphasises the motivating power of encouragement over instruction alone. · Conversation with Johann Peter Eckermann, 14 March 1830 (German)

• Education
• Encouragement
• Teaching

“There is nothing more terrible than imagination without taste.”

Original: Es ist nichts fürchterlicher als Einbildungskraft ohne Geschmack. — Imagination needs judgement and taste if creativity is not to become excess. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Art
• Imagination
• Taste

“Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows their own image.”

Original: Das Betragen ist ein Spiegel, in welchem jeder sein Bild zeigt. — Conduct reveals character more reliably than self-description. · The Elective Affinities, Ottilie's Diary (German)

• Behaviour
• Character
• Self

“One hears only what one understands.”

Original: Es hört doch jeder nur, was er versteht. — Understanding determines what people are capable of hearing in another person's words. · Maxims and Reflections, from the posthumous papers (German)

• Communication
• Perception
• Understanding

“Justice refers to the individual; law to the community.”

Original: Das Recht bezieht sich auf den Einzelnen, die Polizei auf die Gesamtheit. — Goethe distinguishes the claims of individual justice from the broader ordering of society. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Justice
• Law
• Society

“Everything that frees our spirit without giving us mastery over ourselves is destructive.”

Original: Alles, was unsern Geist befreit, ohne uns die Herrschaft über uns selbst zu geben, ist verderblich. — Freedom without self-command can become another form of bondage. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Discipline
• Freedom
• Self

“One must consider that many people want to say something significant without being productive, and the strangest things then come to light.”

Original: Man muß bedenken, daß unter den Menschen gar viele sind, die doch auch etwas Bedeutendes sagen wollen, ohne produktiv zu sein, und da kommen die wunderlichsten Dinge an den Tag. — Goethe links empty claims to the desire for significance without the discipline of productive work. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Creativity
• Vanity
• Writing

“A great error is to think more highly of oneself than one is, and to value oneself less than one is worth.”

Original: Ein großer Fehler: daß man sich mehr dünkt, als man ist, und sich weniger schätzt, als man wert ist. — Goethe identifies both arrogance and needless self-deprecation as distortions of self-knowledge. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Humility
• Pride
• Self

“Whoever praises someone places himself on an equal footing with that person.”

Original: Wen jemand lobt, dem stellt er sich gleich. — Praise is understood as a form of identification with the person being admired. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Equality
• Judgement
• Praise

“Be patient when others do not accept your arguments.”

Original: Sei nicht ungeduldig, wenn man deine Argumente nicht gelten läßt. — Goethe counsels intellectual patience when persuasion fails. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Communication
• Patience
• Tolerance

“With the years, the trials increase.”

Original: Mit den Jahren steigern sich die Prüfungen. — Life is portrayed as an accumulation of challenges rather than a gradual retreat from difficulty. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Age
• Difficulty
• Endurance

“What belongs to us, we cannot get rid of, even if we were to throw it away.”

Original: Was einem angehört, wird man nicht los, und wenn man es wegwürfe. — The remark suggests that possessions, attachments and responsibilities can remain part of us even after rejection. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Attachment
• Possession
• Self

“To understand that the sky is blue everywhere, one need not travel around the world.”

Original: Um zu begreifen, daß der Himmel überall blau ist, braucht man nicht um die Welt zu reisen. — Not every truth requires exhaustive experience; insight can sometimes replace unnecessary investigation. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Knowledge
• Travel
• Understanding

“One must hold fast to the belief that the incomprehensible is comprehensible; otherwise one would not investigate.”

Original: Der Mensch muß bei dem Glauben verharren, daß das Unbegreifliche begreiflich sei; er würde sonst nicht forschen. — The desire to understand what initially seems mysterious is presented as the foundation of enquiry. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Discovery
• Knowledge
• Science

“When one is old, one must do more than when one was young.”

Original: Wenn man alt ist, muß man mehr tun, als da man jung war. — Age is presented not as a reason for withdrawal but as a reason for greater purposeful effort. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Action
• Age
• Work

“When I am to listen to another person's opinion, it must be expressed positively; I have enough problems within myself.”

Original: Wenn ich die Meinung eines andern anhören soll, so muß sie positiv ausgesprochen werden; Problematisches hab' ich in mir selbst genug. — Goethe prefers clear assertions to a multiplication of unresolved problems. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Clarity
• Communication
• Opinions