The 6 Best Goethe Phrases

If German literature has had phrases from famous authors, these have been Goethe’s phrases.  This great man of letters was not only a writer, but also a poet, playwright and scientist. His knowledge ranges from medicine to theology, through physics and poetry.

Although his masterpiece was Faust, he was also the author of the controversial epistolary novel Las paas del joven Werther . The success achieved was such that it ended up unleashing a wave of youth suicides, giving its name to the so-called wherther effect. 

Goethe, although he was a cultured man, never stopped learning and taking an interest in the world until the day of his death. Some of his sentences express his own thoughts and reflections in a very complex way. His idiosyncrasy is framed within the Sturm und Drang movement , the precursor of literary Romanticism.

The discomfort of the human being with contemporary society, allusions to witchcraft and the devil and sentimental exaltation are characteristics of Goethe’s phrases. Today we can find them represented in thousands of books, pictures and movies.

The 6 best Goethe phrases

Goethe’s phrases are full of wisdom and intelligence. This author was gifted and ended up working as a secret royal secretary and minister for the crown prince Carlos Augusto.  He was able to share some of his most accurate reflections, the same ones that led him to be one of the great figures in history.

For two to love each other, just separate them

This is one of Goethe’s most insightful phrases. With it, he urges us to ask ourselves about our own selfishness and childishness. We always want what we cannot have; This leads to an idealization that sometimes ends in disgrace. Goethe himself was inspired by his own story: he had fallen in love with the girlfriend of a colleague by profession. That same colleague loaned the gun to a partner of both who ended up shooting himself with it for an unrequited love.

Thanks to this story, Goethe was able to write The Sorrows of Young Werther, a work that catapulted him to fame. Of course, he never saw his beloved again, although he had love affairs with other young women.

If you want to live happily, don’t worry about the past

For Goethe, the past must be left behind. It is not enough not to think, we must act according to this philosophy of life. He himself fell into a terrible depression because of the French Revolution. He did not understand that the new social classes were going to change, much less that blood would have to be shed for it.

Stagnating in the past only creates problems for us and does not allow us to appreciate the happiness of the now. Grayer times will come, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy what we have.

Everybody wants to be someone; nobody wants to grow

Goethe’s phrases tell us that everyone wants to be recognized and admired, but no one bothers to reflect on himself. When fame and money come, many people don’t keep polishing and perfecting themselves. They stagnate and forget their personal growth, trapped under the rubble of their own vanity.

If we cared more about growing than being, possibly the world would be a better place. Abandoning your potential for the sake of conformity is a tremendous mistake.

Talent is nurtured in solitude; character is formed in the stormy waves of the world

It is ironic that one of the leading exponents of the Sturm un Drang said this phrase. Goethe had an impetuous, creative, curious and restless character, and thanks to this he managed to succeed. In the same way, he considered that solitude and moments of isolation were necessary for anyone with a minimum of intellectual quality.

We all need to have quality time to ourselves. To mature intellectually, there must be a harmony between activity and pause; without it, we will not be able to achieve anything of profit.

If you treat an individual as if they are what they should be and could be, they will become what they should be and could be

With this phrase, Goethe expresses in words the content of the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. In Greek legend, the latter (the King of Cyprus) builds a sculpture based on his ideal woman. He reveres her so much that the goddess Aphrodite, the patron saint of Cyprus, takes pity on him and turns her into a royal woman.

Currently, this myth lays the psychological foundations of the famous  Pygmalion Effect : it treats a person as a failure, and even if they are incredibly good at their jobs, they will end up failing. If, on the contrary, you encourage her and allow her to believe that she can, her own behavior will lead her to triumph.

Man is always believed to be more than he is, and esteem himself less than he is worth

Once again, the German writer hits the spot. Human beings always think of ourselves as better than others, but when it comes down to it, our dignity is conspicuous by its absence. Learning to love ourselves is essential, as long as we do not fall into arrogance.

There is no genius more honored and admired than one who is humble and does not need continuous approval. Whoever impresses through deception, exaggeration and self-praise does not deserve even a trace of envy.