It is a great error to take oneself for more than one is, or for less than one is worth.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheSeldom in the business and transactions of ordinary life, do we find the sympathy we want.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheI hate every violent overthrow, because as much is destroyed as is gained by it.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheHypotheses are only the pieces of scaffolding which are erected round a building during the course of construction, and which are taken away as soon as the edifice is completed.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThe world is so full of simpletons and madmen, that one need not seek them in a madhouse.
Johann Wolfgang von GoetheAs for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet have not the slightest feeling for seclusion; for solitude, I maintain, when joined with a quiet contemplation of nature, a serene and conscious faith in creation and the Creator, and a few vexations from outside is the only school for a mind of lofty endowment.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe