QuoteProject
Investigate what is, and not what pleases.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Focus on understanding reality rather than being swayed by superficial pleasures.

This quote emphasizes the importance of seeking truth and understanding rather than getting caught up in what is merely enjoyable or pleasing. Goethe suggests that genuine investigation of reality leads to deeper knowledge and wisdom, urging individuals to prioritize inquiry over gratification.

Themes

TruthUnderstandingWisdomRealityInvestigation

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophical discussion about the nature of happiness, you might quote Goethe to emphasize the importance of understanding true realities.

More from Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Destiny 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

When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to loose.
Bob DylanRead
If you give a good thing to the world, then over time your karma will be good, and you'll receive good.
Russell SimmonsRead
Immature strategy is the cause of grief.
Miyamoto MusashiRead
It seems wisest to assume the worst from the beginning...and let anything better come as a surprise.
Jules VerneRead
Our most emotionally active life is lived in our dreams, and our cells renew themselves most industriously in sleep. We reach highest in meditation, and farthest in prayer. In stillness every human being is great; he is free from the experience of hostility; he is a poet, and most like an angel.
Leonard BernsteinRead
Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.
Harper LeeRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.