I have found a paper of mine among some others in which I call architecture 'petrified music.' Really there is something in this; the tone of mind produced by architecture approaches the effect of music.

Giving is the business of the rich.

If the mass of people hesitate to act, strike with swiftly and with boldness, the brave heart that understands and seizes opportunity can everything.

You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or the hammer.

Toleration ought in reality to be merely a transitory mood. It must lead to recognition. To tolerate is to affront.

Gray are all the theories, But green is the tree of life.

What am I then...? Everything that I have seen, heard, and observed I have collected and exploited. My works have been nourished by countless different individuals, by innocent and wise ones, people of intelligence and dunces. Childhood, maturity and old age all have brought me their thoughts....their perspectives on life. I have often reaped what others have sowed. My work is the work of a collective being that bears the name Goethe.