Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Considered a brilliant writer, Goethe was one of the paramount figures of German literature and European Neo-classicism and Romanticism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The author of Faust and Theory of Colours, he inspired Darwin with his independent discovery of the human premaxilla jaw bones and focus on evolution. Goethe's influence spread across Europe, and for the next century his works were a primary source of inspiration in music, drama, and poetry.

Quotations

• Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.
• You must be either the servant or the master, the hammer or the anvil.
• Know thyself? If I knew myself, I'd run away.
• When ideas fail, words come in very handy.
• Men err as long as they strive.
• There are two things children should get from their parents: roots and wings.
• Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.
• We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.
• Willing is not enough; we must do.