"We are never further from what we..." - Quote by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
We are never further from what we wish than when we believe that we have what we wished for.
More by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
“Idea and experience will never coincide in the center; only through art and action are they united.”
“With little wit and ease to suit them, They whirl in narrow circling trails, Like kittens playing with their tails.”
“The bad thing is that thinking about thought doesn't help at all; one has to have it from nature so that the good ideas appear before us like free children of God calling to us: Here we are.”
More on Desire
“Desires are only the lack of something: and those who have the greatest desires are in a worse condition than those who have none, or very slight ones.”
“If I had a humble spirit in my service who, when I asked for a glass of water, brought me the world's costliest wines blended in a chalice, I should dismiss him, in order to teach him that my pleasure consists, not in what I enjoy, but in having my own way.”
“If one could run without getting tired I don't think one would often want to do anything else.”
More on Illusion
“Let us again pretend that life is a solid substance, shaped like a globe, which we turn about in our fingers. Let us pretend that we can make out a plain and logical story, so that when one matter is despatched—love for instance—we go on, in an orderly manner, to the next.”
“The water in the stream may have changed many times, but the reflection of the moon and the stars remains the same.”
“Cheap medical care is one of the most expensive things there is. So long as politicians can create the illusion of something for nothing, that gets them votes, which is what it is all about, as far as they are concerned.”