You can’t, if you can’t feel it, if it neverRises from the soul, and swaysThe heart of every single hearer,With deepest power, in simple ways.You’ll sit forever, gluing things together,Cooking up a stew from other’s scraps,Blowing on a miserable fire,Made from your heap of dying ash.Let apes and children praise your art,If their admiration’s to your taste,But you’ll never speak from heart to heart,Unless it rises up from your heart’s space.

About This Quote

About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a 18th-century German writer and polymath. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, and philosophical thought in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Art — Creativity, expression, and the role of art in society
  • Love — Quotes exploring romantic love, compassion, and human connection

More quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Related Quotes