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Look closely at those who patronize you. Half are unfeeling, half untaught.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Be vigilant about those who support you, as many may not truly care or understand you.

This quote by Goethe suggests that the people who offer support or patronage should be scrutinized. It implies that among those who show kindness or support, some may do so without genuine feeling or understanding, highlighting the importance of discerning true intentions and wisdom in our relationships.

Themes

PatronageSupportWisdomIntentionsRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a motivational speech about understanding true support and evaluating intentions in personal relationships.

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All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
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I am amazed to see how deliberately I have entangled myself step by step. To have seen my position so clearly, and yet to have acted so like a child!
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Seldom in the business and transactions of ordinary life, do we find the sympathy we want.
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Know thyself? If I knew myself I would run away.
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