1749–1832
Goethe
German poet, novelist, scientist and statesman, author of Faust. He believed knowing is worthless until it becomes doing.
Every line we carry
Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.
- What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours.
Faust looks at his father's old instruments gathering dust in his study. Whatever you are handed, money, talent or tradition, only becomes yours when you put it to work. Use what you were given.
Faust I, lines 682-683, our translation from the German
- People err as long as they strive.
God says this to Mephistopheles in the Prologue in Heaven. Mistakes are the price of reaching for anything. If you are not making some, you may have stopped trying.
Faust I, line 317, our translation from the German
- All theory is gray. The tree of life is green.
Mephistopheles, dressed as Faust, mocks a student eager for books. The line is the devil's, but the point stands: life is richer than any system describing it. Get out and live some of it.
Faust I, lines 2038-2039, our translation from the German
- In the beginning was the deed.
Faust is translating the Gospel of John and rejects word, sense and power before settling on deed. Action comes first. Start doing and the meaning follows.
Faust I, line 1237, our translation from the German
- Only those who win freedom daily deserve it.
The old, blind Faust calls this the last word of wisdom. Freedom and life are not possessions but daily work. Earn them again each morning.
Faust II, lines 11575-11576, our translation from the German
- Whoever keeps striving can be saved.
Angels sing this as they carry Faust's soul upward. Goethe rewards the effort, not a flawless record. Keep reaching even after you fall.
Faust II, lines 11936-11937, our translation from the German
- Knowing isn't enough. Apply it. Wanting isn't enough. Do it.
Information and good intentions are cheap. What counts is putting knowledge to use and turning will into action. Close the gap between what you know and what you do.
Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, From Makarie's Archive, our translation from the German
- Know yourself by acting, never by brooding.
Goethe says you learn who you are by trying to do your duty, not by staring inward. Action reveals character. Do the next right thing and watch what you find.
Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, Reflections in the Spirit of the Wanderers, our translation from the German
- Your duty? What the day demands.
Goethe does not hand out a grand mission. Your duty is whatever today is asking of you. Answer that well, every day.
Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, Reflections in the Spirit of the Wanderers, our translation from the German
- Think and do. Do and think. That's the sum of wisdom.
The speaker adds that the two must alternate like breathing in and out. Thought without action goes stale, action without thought goes wild. Keep both going.
Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years 2.9, our translation from the German
- Treat people as what they should be, and you help them become it.
The first half says that taking people only as they are makes them worse. Expectations shape behavior. Hold others to their best and they often rise to it.
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship 8.4, our translation from the German
- Every clever thing has been thought. Try thinking it again.
Originality is rarer than people think. The real work is to rethink old wisdom until it becomes your own. Read the classics and make them yours.
Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, Reflections in the Spirit of the Wanderers, our translation from the German