Share & Save
Meaning
This points to wisdom as something shared, but not fully absorbed until a person works it through for themselves. It can be read as a reminder that repeating a good idea is not enough, the thought has to be tested against lived experience before it becomes genuinely one's own. It lands when advice sounds familiar, yet only starts to matter after it is rethought in private.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Not documented yet.
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Not documented yet.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German polymath
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath, and one of the central figures of German literature. He is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. Goethe worked as a poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His writing ranged from plays, poetry, and aesthetic criticism to treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour, and his influence extended across literature, politics, Christian thought, and philosophy in the Western world from the late 18th century onward.
More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (304 quotes) →Keep reading Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “I possess so much, but my love for her absorbs it all. I possess so much, but without her I have nothing.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward b…”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Explore Wisdom
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust
2007
Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Ein Roman
1999
Italienische Reise
2007
The Metamorphosis of Plants
2009