Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, statesman, artist, and natural philosopher. A prolific and varied writer, he is best known for his two-part poetic drama Faust. Goethe was educated at home by private tutors and although his great passion was drawing, he quickly became interested in literature. He earned a law degree from the University of Strasbourg in 1771, but his focus was on writing. In 1775 Goethe was invited, on the strength of his fame as the author of The Sorrows of Young Werther, to the court of Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who would become Grand Duke in 1815. He remained in Weimar for the rest of his life, where he held a succession of offices, becoming the Duke’s friend and chief adviser. His journey to the Italian peninsula and Sicily from 1786 to 1788 was of great significance in his aesthetic and philosophical development. After 1793 devoted his endeavours primarily to literature.
Quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe…
What we do not understand we do not possess.
Man is never deceived; he deceives himself.
If you would do something, you must be something.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
Each one sees what he carries in his heart.
The first and last thing which is required of genius is the love of truth.
Let us not forget that man can never get away from himself.
Of that which belongs to a man, he cannot rid himself, even though he were to throw it away.
Nothing is more terrible than active ignorance.
Every man has within himself a continent of undiscovered character.