All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
When I say to the Moment flying; 'Linger a while -- thou art so fair!' Then bind me in thy bonds undying, And my final ruin I will bear!
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a desire to hold onto beautiful moments in life, even if it leads to eventual ruin.
In this quote, Goethe articulates a poignant longing for the fleeting beauty of moments that pass too quickly. The speaker implores time to pause and savor the beauty of the present, even if clinging to such moments may lead to suffering. This reflects a universal human experience: the tension between appreciating life's beauty and the inevitable passage of time that leads to loss.
Themes
MomentBeautyTimeLifeRuin
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about cherishing life's fleeting moments.
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.
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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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