Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
poet · Frankfurt, Germany · Weimar · 1749–1832
A novel written at twenty-five made him known across Europe; he then worked as an official in Weimar and wrote poems and plays all his life. Faust took him sixty years.
Posts
1774
How glad I am to be away! Dearest friend, what a thing is the human heart!
Wie froh bin ich, daß ich weg bin! Bester Freund, was ist das Herz des Menschen!
The Sorrows of Young Werther, the first letter
1808 · The old scholar Faust, speaking in his study
I have now, alas, studied philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine, and, sad to say, theology too, through and through, with burning effort. And here I stand, poor fool that I am, no wiser than I was before.
Habe nun, ach! Philosophie, Juristerei und Medizin, Und leider auch Theologie Durchaus studiert, mit heißem Bemühn. Da steh ich nun, ich armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor
Faust, Part One, "Night"
1808 · The devil Mephistopheles, speaking to a student
Grey, dear friend, is all theory, and green is the golden tree of life.
Grau, teurer Freund, ist alle Theorie, Und grün des Lebens goldner Baum.
Faust, Part One, "Study"
1808
Two souls, alas, live in my breast, and each wants to tear itself from the other.
Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach! in meiner Brust, Die eine will sich von der andern trennen
Faust, Part One, "Before the City Gate"
1808 · God, speaking to the devil Mephistopheles
Man errs as long as he strives.
Es irrt der Mensch so lang er strebt.
Faust, "Prologue in Heaven"
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