You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. ~ Goethe 

We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe. ~ Goethe 

I have possessed that heart, that noble soul, in whose presence I seemed to be more than I really was, because I was all that I could be. ~ Goethe 

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. ~ Goethe 

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. ~ Goethe 

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. ~ Goethe 

If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be. ~ Goethe 

Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction. ~ Goethe 

Quite often, as life goes on, when we feel completely secure as we go on our way, we suddenly notice that we are trapped in error, that we have allowed ourselves to be taken in by iniduals, by objects, have dreamt up an affinity with them which immediately vanishes before our waking eye; and yet we cannot tear ourselves away, held fast by some power that seems incomprehensible to us. Sometimes, however, we become fully aware and realize that error as well as truth can move and spur us on to action. Now because action is always a decisive factor, something really good can result from an active error, because the effect of all that has been done reaches out into infinity. So although creative action is certainly always best, destroying what has been done is also not without happy consequence. ~ Goethe 

Science and art belong to the whole world, and before them vanish the barriers of nationality. ~ Goethe