All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Be generous with kindly words, especially about those who are absent.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote encourages us to speak well of others, particularly when they're not present to defend themselves.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe emphasizes the importance of generosity in our speech, particularly towards those who are not around to hear our words. By advocating for kind words, he suggests that our character is reflected not just in our actions, but also in how we discuss others in their absence. This approach fosters positive relationships and promotes a culture of respect and empathy.
Themes
GenerosityKindnessWordsPresenceAbsentRespect
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about the importance of kindness in communication.
More from Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
All quotes βDestiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
There is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. From its springs the purest courtesy in the outward behavior.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
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!
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Seldom in the business and transactions of ordinary life, do we find the sympathy we want.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Know thyself? If I knew myself I would run away.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Similar quotes
I think teaching a man to hate himself is much more criminal than teaching a man to hate someone else.
Malcolm XRead
An overdose of praise is like 10 lumps of sugar in coffee; only a very few people can swallow it.
Emily PostRead
I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.
Charlotte BronteRead
It is right that we should stand by and act on our principles; but not right to hold them in obstinate blindness, or retain them when proved to be erroneous.
Michael FaradayRead
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.
Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieRead