Quotes About Understanding

Every reader, if he has a strong mind, reads himself into the book, and amalgamates his thoughts with those of the author.

Was ich weiß, kann jeder wissen. Mein Herz hab' ich allein.

Every day I observe more and more the folly of judging of others by ourselves; and I have so much trouble with myself, and my own heart is in such constant agitation, that I am well content to let others pursue their own course, if they only allow me the same privilege.

Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do; and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension.

No one has ever properly understood me, I have never fully understood anyone; and no one understands anyone else

He values my understanding and talents more highly than my heart, but I am proud of the latter only. It is the sole source of everything of our strength, happiness, and misery. All the knowledge I possess every one else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.

I see my discourse leaves you cold; Dear kids, I do not take offense; Recall: the Devil, he is old, Grow old yourselves, and he'll make sense!

That which issues from the heart alone, Will bend the hearts of others to your own.

Since you know me and my destiny only too well, you probably also know what attracts me to all unfortunate people.

Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen.

It is in vain that a man of sound mind and cool temper understands the condition of such a wretched being... He can no more communicate his own wisdom to him than a healthy man can instil his strength into the invalid by whose bedside he is seated.

The greater part of all the mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims.

The more one knows, the more one comprehends, the more one realizes that everything turns in a circle.

The really unhappy person is the one who leaves undone what they can do, and starts doing what they don't understand; no wonder they come to grief.

Nothing is worse than active ignorance.

When scholars study a thing, they strive To kill it first, if its alive; Then they have the parts and they've lost the whole For the link that's missing was the living soul.

Tolerance should really only be a passing attitude: it should lead to appreciation. To tolerate is to offend.

Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess.

For many people, one of the most frustrating aspects of life is not being able to understand other people's behavior.

One should not search for anything behind the phenomena. They themselves are the message.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It is delightful to transport one's self into the spirit of the past, to see how a wise man has thought before us.

If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.

Whatever truths or fables you may find in a thousand books, it is all a tower of Babel unless love holds it together.