What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours.

What it means

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.

The source

"What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours." Goethe said it in Faust I, lines 682-683. Translated from the original German by Spartan Surfers.

"Was du ererbt von deinen Vätern hast, Erwirb es, um es zu besitzen."

Original German, Faust I, lines 682-683. Text read at gutenberg.org.

Who said it

Goethe (1749–1832). German poet, novelist, scientist and statesman, author of Faust. He believed knowing is worthless until it becomes doing.

Questions

What does "What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours." mean?

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.

Who said "What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours."?

Goethe (1749–1832). Source: Faust I, lines 682-683.

What is the original German?

Was du ererbt von deinen Vätern hast, Erwirb es, um es zu besitzen. Translated from the original German by Spartan Surfers.

Is "What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours." on a shirt?

Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

"What you inherit, earn, to make it truly yours." (Goethe, Faust I, lines 682-683, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/what-you-inherit-earn-to-make-it-truly