The finished man, you know, is difficult to please; a growing mind will ever show you gratitude. --Faust 1, lines 182-3

He who is wise puts aside all claims which may dissipate his attention, and confining himself to one branch excels in that.

To witness two lovers is a spectacle for the gods.

First let a man teach himself, and then he will be taught by others.

A word spoken is a terrible thing when it suddenly utters what the heart has long allowed.

It doesn't behoove elderly persons to follow fashion in their thinking nor in the way they dress.

People are always talking about originality; but what do they mean? As soon as we are born, the world begins to work upon us; and this goes on to the end. And after all, what can we call our own, except energy, strength, and will? If I could give an account of all that I owe to great predecessors and contemporaries, there would be but a small balance in my favor.