Wilhelm von Humboldt

"It is resignation and contentment that are best calculated to lead us safely through life. Whoever has not sufficient power to endure privations, and even suffering, can never feel that he is armour-proof against painful emotions — nay, he must attribute to himself, or at least to the morbid sensitiveness of his nature, every disagreeable feeling he may suffer."

"To set ourselves against men and fate is not a disposition of mind which is the noblest, and which does honour to us, nor is it that which is likely to procure us the greatest amount of tranquillity and cheerfulness. We ought rather to try to accommodate ourselves, so far as it is possible, to circumstances, to look on all that fate bestows upon us as a gift, being careful not to desire more, and least of all to be dissatisfied because all our desires are not gratified."

"It is often found that those feelings which are best, noblest, and most self-denying, are exactly those which lead to a disastrous issue. It is as if, by the command of a higher and wiser Power, man’s fate were intentionally brought into variance with his inner feelings, in order that the latter might acquire a higher value, shine with greater purity, and thus become more precious by the very privations and sufferings to him who cherishes such feelings. However benevolent may be the intentions of Providence, they do not always advance the happiness of the individual. Providence has always higher ends in view, and works in a pre-eminent degree on the inner feelings and disposition."

"Time is the most important thing in human life — for what is pleasure after the departure of time? and the most consolatory, since pain, when pain has passed, is nothing. Time is the wheeltrack, in which we roll on towards eternity, conducting us to the Incomprehensible. In its progress there is a ripening power, and it ripens us the more and the more powerfully, when we duly estimate it, listen to its voice, do not waste it, but regard it as the highest finite good, in which all finite things are resolved."

"That all life is only an advancing towards apparent annihilation, can be nowhere so clearly seen as in the regular succession of the seasons. To behold the whole vegetable world starting forth into life with innocent unsuspecting joy, as if it did not once anticipate its wintry death, contains something as deeply affecting as the life of a child, who as yet has not dreamt of danger."

"The mere reality of life would be inconceivably poor without the charm of fancy, which brings in its bosom, no doubt, as many vain fears as idle hopes, but lends much oftener to the allusions it calls up a gay flattering hue than one which inspires terror."

"The thought of a persecuting power has always appeared quite strange to me. I have never been able to endure the idea, which admits the existence of a being inimical to all good and taking pleasure in everything evil. In the New Testament I consider such passages merely figurative, expressions connected with the representations of Judaism for the evil, which man, even if he is good and believes himself quite innocent, has yet ever to fight against."

"We are both the creatures of time; our fate rests upon it as upon an ever-agitated sea, as we never know whether we can safely trust the present, or whether a deceitful future may not yet be awaiting us."

"It is a beautiful attribute of our nature, a privilege granted to man exclusively, and before all the other creatures of this world, that he ever feels that he can by forethought and determination control and govern every physical influence, however mighty it may be. An inward voice proclaims to him that he is free and independent; it imputes to him good and evil, and in the judgments which he passes on himself, which must always be more severe and strict than those of others, he must entirely throw out of sight all physical influences. Man is subject to two distinct laws, that of dependence and that of freedom, and the conflict is not to be settled by the mere understanding. In the visible world all things seem to be so connected together, that, if we were acquainted with all possible circumstances — the most minute and most remote — it looks as if we could show that man at any moment could not avoid acting exactly as he did. And yet there is always the feeling within us, that if we did but will it, we could grasp the revolving wheel, and free ourselves from the chain that binds us to it. In this consciousness of his freedom lies the true dignity of man."

"It is a proverbial expression that every man is the maker of his own fortune, and we usually regard it as implying that every man, by his folly or wisdom, prepares good or evil for himself. But we may view it in another light — namely, that we may so accommodate ourselves to the dispensations of Providence as to be happy in our lot, whatever may be its privations."

"But the simple thought that the stars are far beyond and above everything earthly — the feeling that everything earthly in comparison fades from the view, and that man himself is utterly insignificant when contrasted with those worlds scattered over the firmament, while his fate, his enjoyments, and wants are as nothing — then again that the stars bind together all men and all periods of the world’s history, as they have seen all from the beginning of time, and will see all that shall come hereafter; — when I meditate on all these things, I lose myself in serene delight while contemplating the starry heavens. Certainly it is a truly sublime spectacle, when in the stillness of the night, in an unclouded sky, the stars, like the world’s choir, rise and set, and as it were divide existence into two portions: — the one, belonging to the earthly, is silent in the perfect stillness of night, whilst the other alone comes forth in sublimity, pomp, and majesty. Viewed in this light the starry heavens truly exercise a moral influence over us; and who can readily stray into the paths of immorality, if he has been accustomed to live amidst such thoughts and feelings, and frequently to dwell upon them? How are we entranced by the simple splendours of this wonderful drama of nature?"

"A taste for sculpture belongs to the best, purest, and noblest of our enjoyments; and we feel most reluctant to be separated from those forms, from which, however often we contemplate them, we derive renewed and indeed heightened pleasure."

"Even sleep is characteristic. How charming are children in their lovely innocence! how angel-like their blooming hue! how painful and anxious is the sleep and expression in the countenance of the guilty!"

"I do not dread old age, and death I have, from a peculiarity of my constitution and from my youth, been accustomed to regard not simply as an event in human life but as something joyous. Such an occurrence cannot possibly excite feelings of regret in one who has meditated deeply on the destiny of man. My reckoning with the world has long been closed — I have nothing more to look for from length of life — I have no deep-laid plans extending to a distant futurity. I take any enjoyments gratefully from the hand of Providence, but would think it foolish to be so dependent upon them as to expect them to be of long continuance. My feelings are the precise central point in which I stand, and where my enjoyments are placed ; from anything external to myself I can derive no pleasure, and those thoughts and feelings are so peculiarly my own that I cannot imagine that they should not go with me. No one, however, can raise the veil which Providence has with profound wisdom drawn over the world beyond the grave."

"The idea we form of a misfortune is ever somewhat different from the misfortune itself, when it appears in all its frightful certainty. We must trust in nothing so little, and must labour for nothing so unceasingly, as for the strengthening of our soul and for self-government, both of which are the only sure foundations of earthly happiness."

"What lies in the nature of things and is dependent on fate, it would be silly and unmanly to lose one’s rest and inward equilibrium in thinking of it."

"It is incredible how important it is that the corporeal frame should be kept under the influence of constant, continuous, and unbroken order, and free from the impressions of vicissitude, which always more or less derange the corporeal functions. After all, it is continued temperance which sustains the body for the longest period of time, and which most surely preserves it free from sickness."

"Man is, above all, the central point of human action, and each man remains at last alone, so that what was in him and went forth from him is alone important. Man, during his life on earth, sympathising and active, is ever associated in his feelings with others; yet he treads alone the more important path, which leads over the confines of the earthly state: no one can accompany him there, though in every man there is the presentiment, that beyond the grave he will find again those who have gone before him, and will there gather around him again those whom he leaves behind. No man of affectionate feeling can be without this anticipation, yea, this firm belief, without giving up a large portion of his happiness, and that the purest and noblest."

"The men most to be pitied are those who have no command over themselves, who cannot do what they would, and who, even whilst they are performing virtuous deeds, do so from mean motives, from regard to happiness and mental satisfaction, fear of the reproaches of conscience, or else of future punishment. This is all very well and useful, supposing that man cannot be kept in the straight path by any other motives, but he who looks inwardly to the heart and soul can derive no satisfaction from such conduct. True nobility only exists when the good is sought for its own sake, either as a recognised law of pure duty, or from the feeling of the lofty dignity and constraining beauty of virtue. It is only these motives that show the disposition to be great and noble, and these alone react upon the character."

"Providence certainly does not attend merely to the interests of individuals, but the profound wisdom of its counsels extends to the right ordering and betterment of all."

"It is a beautiful thought, that however far one shore may be from another, the wave that ripples over my foot will in a short time be on the opposite strand."

"There is nothing so selfish and heartless as the displeasure, or at least the kind of contemptuous aversion, with which men of distinction and wealth sometimes regard Sundays and holidays. Even the choice of the seventh day is certainly the wisest which could have been made. However it may seem to lie, and in one respect really may lie, within the power of the will to shorten or lengthen the usual period of labour, I am thoroughly convinced that the six days are the really true, fit, and adequate measure of time for work, whether as regards the physical strength of man or his perseverance in a uniform occupation. There is also something humane in the arrangement, by which those animals which assist man in his work rest along with him."

"Trees have about them something beautiful and attractive even to the fancy, since they cannot change their places, are witnesses of all the changes that take place around them; and as some reach a great age, they become, as it were, historical monuments, and like ourselves they have a life, growing and passing away — not being inanimate and unvarying like the fields and rivers. One sees them passing through various stages, and at last step by step approaching death, which makes them look still more like ourselves."

"Work, according to my feeling, is as much of a necessity to man as eating and sleeping. Even those who do nothing which to a sensible man can be called work, still imagine that they are doing something. The world possesses not a man who is an idler in his own eyes."

"Everything that regards statesmanship and the interest of the world is in all outward respects of the greatest importance; it creates and destroys in a moment the happiness, even the very existence, of thousands, but when the wave of the moment has rushed past, and the storm has abated, its influence is lost, and even frequently disappears without leaving a trace behind. Many other things that are noiselessly influencing the thoughts and feelings often make far deeper and more lasting impressions on us. Man can for the most part keep himself very independent of all that does not trench on his private life — a very wise arrangement of Providence, since it gives a much greater security to human happiness."

"Earnestness in life, even when carried to an extreme, is something very noble and great, but it must not be allowed to disturb the common business of life, else it will produce bitterness, producing injurious effects."

"My house and the things in it have always something pleasant to me. There is always a something about home which addresses us with a friendly air, and touches the heart, even after having just come from direct intercourse with objects that are great and beautiful."

"Nature goes forward in her never-ending course, and cares nothing for the race of man that is ever passing before her. Whatever may be the painful and distressing events that happen, either in the direct course of her accustomed revolutions, or by some apparent deviation, she still goes on her way with stern indifference and apparent insensibility. Whether we suffer from some present sorrow, or from the fear of one impending, this thought has something deeply painful, which increases the bitterness of the inward grief — something that makes us pause and shudder. But when we extend our view — when the soul loses itself in universal contemplation — when man turns to reflection and resigns himself to the inevitable, a course alone worthy of him, then the eternal, unchangeable order of Nature has a comforting and peaceful influence. It even gives us here a resting-place, "a stationary pole-star amidst the flight of meteors," as has been beautifully expressed in a song of Schiller's. Man belongs to a great order of things not easily disturbed or thrown into confusion; and as this certainly leads to something higher, and at length to a point in which all doubts shall be resolved, all difficulties smoothed, and all the jarring tones of contradiction and discordance joined in one mighty harmony — he must also in this order attain to this point."

"The past and the remembrance of it have a never-ending power, and if painful longings arise to give ourselves up to it, it has yet an inexpressible charm. We can shut ourselves up in thought with those whom we have loved and lost — we can turn away in peace and freedom from all that is external, and though still active and beneficent, for ourselves we ask nothing, for everything that the heart has the power to enjoy is within our breast."

"Those who go along the path of life together must separate at some point; it is well when the interval at which they follow each other is very short. But every period of years is short in comparison of eternity. As for myself, I care now for nothing else except that my inward being, simple and undisguised, without being led by prejudices or maxims, yielding only to its feelings, should place itself in unison with that period of life on which I have unluckily entered sooner than the usual course of life might have led me to expect. Such a state, in my opinion, no man need fear to attain, but there must be much striving after it. It is, indeed, often attained only after much physical and moral suffering, but in this there is a lesson of humility under the hand of God, which I have ever regarded as the best and highest duty of man."

"What is the individual in the stream of this world’s events? He disappears in it, not merely like an atom in an immeasurable, all-absorbing power, but in a higher, nobler spirit. For this stream does not rush on thoughtlessly, led by blind chance, but pursues its distinct end, guided in its course by an almighty and all-wise hand. But the individual does not live to see the attainment of this end; he enjoys a greater or less share of success as chance wills it, by which I merely mean an uninvestigated providence; he will often be sacrificed in the attainment, and must frequently leave his work suddenly, and in the midst of his labours. He is therefore only an instrument, and does not appear to be even a powerful one; as, when the course of nature sweeps him away, his place is ever filled up, for it would be absurd to suppose that the great objects of the Creator could be for a moment delayed by any circumstance in the life of a weak individual. In the events of the moral world there is an aim — there is an idea pursued — one can at least, nay, one must think so in reference to himself. In the order of the material nature it is otherwise. One can only say that powers arise and run their course as long as they are permitted. As long as one looks at a single individual, he appears different from other men — different in ability, health, length of life, &c.; but if we look at a mass of living beings, they appear all alike."

"It is a very wise rule in life not to be too anxious about health, or to be entirely free from the inconveniences and bodily ailments of old age. It is far better to submit with patience to what is merely annoying, but does not altogether confine us, and still better to treat with indifference the uncomfortable feelings which such a state of body calls up."

"Peace is the natural tone of a well-regulated mind at one with itself. External circumstances may assume a threatening aspect, and unhinge for a time the most stoical disposition, but a truly noble soul yields not; and there are even women who unite such firmness with the greatest and liveliest activity of mind and vigour of imagination. This we may admire, though we must not expect often to find it in them. But in man it is an imperative duty, and he loses in the eyes of the right-thinking all title to respect when he shows a deficiency in this quality."

"We must wait for the future, and enjoy or bear the present."

"Our evangelical churches are too much regarded as places for preaching, and too little thought as intended for the religious elevation of the mind by prayer and meditation."

"Death is only a word. Experience alone can first tell us what is the true meaning of the word. The appearance of the dying tells us nothing. What we see is merely the prelude to death. A dull unconsciousness is what strikes us. Whether this be so — how and when the spirit wakes to life again — this is what we wish to know, and which never can be known till it is experienced."

"That is a very beautiful expression in your last letter, in which you say that you regard life as a casket, in which we can lay up all the spiritual treasures that we possess. It is indeed a remarkably happy idea. In fact, man can make of life what he will, and give as much value to it for himself and others as he has power given him. This, however, is to be understood merely in a spiritual sense, as man has not external circumstances in his own power, but over his spiritual and moral nature he has entire control."

"To be happy and to feel inward happiness is not the gift of fate, and comes not from the circumstances in which we are placed. We must reach it by our own exertions if it is to remain. But then it is comforting to think that it is always within our own power. God himself cannot make a man happy in his external circumstances, or at least only to a certain extent, nor yet can he make him always prosperous and successful in his aims; for God has with supreme wisdom placed men in the midst of ever-changing events, and these do not admit of men being always happy. But inwardly happy he can always make him, for he has given us this power in our heart — the yearning for him, the admiration, love, and trust in him; in fact, all those feelings by which his peace comes to us."

"Experience will convince you, what I have often said, that man can do much for himself. God would not have given him a dis¬ position so easily excited and so easily moved to sorrow and grief, if he had not bestowed at the same time a strength of mind to control these feelings, and to get the better of this grief. He gives nothing directly; he ever wills that man should merit his blessing by his own exertions; we cannot say earn and deserve, for the human can never in this way attain the heavenly. All, too, that God gives must pass through man and his own exertions, as if it were his own peculiar work. It is with the seed which produces the fruit of the Spirit precisely as with that which springs from the earth, or at least in quite a similar way. The seed is not immediately from God or from nature; it must go through all the processes necessary to bring it by degrees to maturity; and if man, under the most favourable sky and the most fruitful soil, wishes to be secure of his harvest, he must bestow his labour and the "sweat of his brow." This is still more the case with the fruit of the Spirit and of the heart, but the certainty of the harvest is still greater."

"The things of the world are ever rising and falling, and in unceasing change. This change must be in accordance with the will of God, as he has given to man neither the power nor the wisdom to control it and bring it to a close. The great lesson to be learned in such cases is, that man must strengthen himself doubly to perform his duty, and do what is right, seeking his happiness and inward peace in objects which cannot be taken away from him."

"The sorrow which calls for help and comfort is not the greatest, nor does it come from the depths of the heart."

"Enjoyment arises from activity of mind; both are ever united. There is indeed also an enjoyment which streams in upon us as a pure gift of Heaven. Such, however, we should not seek after; it is to be regretted when an anxious longing for this arises. But the great enjoyment, the great happiness, that which cannot be torn from us by any power, lies in the past and in the thought that happiness is indeed a great and precious good, but yet the improvement of the soul by joys and griefs, the development of noble feelings, is the true and only end of existence; whereas everything else in the world is ever changing, and in its nature transient. According to this view, life in the past sinks not into a stupid brooding over past pleasures or sorrows that have been felt, but is united closely with the mental activity which employs itself on the present."

"Religion is implanted in the very nature of man. The Christian religion has come down from above by the special will of God. It has, however, not deprived man of freedom on this point, but rather has conferred it on him in a still higher degree ; just because religious feelings have their true value according as they spring freely and spontaneously from man’s inner nature. Thus it has been received and pushed on till everything has yielded to it. But when it has been received into the hearts of men, it produces different effects according to the peculiar spirit and character of each. Already we see this take place among the Apostles, and therefore from the very earliest days of the Christian religion. See the difference between John and Peter. In the end there arose real dissensions. Passions and worldly views got mixed up. Thus profanity and abuses were the result. But still we always see in these religious disputes the godlike alongside of the earthly — ever the One, Eternal, and Immortal giving light and warmth as the sun, but overcast, sometimes more, sometimes less, by the clouds of the earthly."

"The most beautiful, perhaps the only true, philosophical song existing in any known tongue."

"If we would indicate an idea which, throughout the whole course of history, has ever more and more widely extended its empire, or which, more than any other, testifies to the much-contested and still more decidedly misunderstood perfectibility of the whole human race, it is that of establishing our common humanity — of striving to remove the barriers which prejudice and limited views of every kind have erected among men, and to treat all mankind, without reference to religion, nation, or color, as one fraternity, one great community, fitted for the attainment of one object, the unrestrained development of the physical powers. This is the ultimate and highest aim of society, identical with the direction implanted by nature in the mind of man toward the indefinite extension of his existence. He regards the earth in all its limits, and the heavens as far as his eye can scan their bright and starry depths, as inwardly his own, given to him as the objects of his contemplation, and as a field for the development of his energies. Even the child longs to pass the hills or the seas which inclose his narrow home; yet, when his eager steps have borne him beyond those limits, he pines, like the plant, for his native soil; and it is by this touching and beautiful attribute of man — this longing for that which is unknown, and this fond remembrance of that which is lost — that he is spared from an exclusive attachment to the present. Thus deeply rooted in the innermost nature of man, and even enjoined upon him by his highest tendencies, the recognition of the bond of humanity becomes one of the noblest leading principles in the history of mankind."

"The impetuous conquests of Alexander, the more politic and premeditated extension of territory made by the Romans, the wild and cruel incursions of the Mexicans, and the despotic acquisitions of the incas, have in both hemispheres contributed to put an end to the separate existence of many tribes as independent nations, and tended at the same time to establish more extended international amalgamation. Men of great and strong minds, as well as whole nations, acted under the influence of one idea, the purity of which was, however, utterly unknown to them. It was Christianity which first promulgated the truth of its exalted charity, although the seed sown yielded but a slow and scanty harvest. Before the religion of Christ manifested its form, its existence was only revealed by a faint foreshadowing presentiment. In recent times, the idea of civilization has acquired additional intensity, and has given rise to a desire of extending more widely the relations of national intercourse and of intellectual cultivation; even selfishness begins to learn that by such a course its interests will be better served than by violent and forced isolation. Language more than any other attribute of mankind, binds together the whole human race. By its idiomatic properties it certainly seems to separate nations, but the reciprocal understanding of foreign languages connects men together on the other hand without injuring individual national characteristics."

"Es gibt schlechterdings gewisse Kenntnisse, die allgemein sein müssen, und noch mehr eine gewisse Bildung der Gesinnungen und des Charakters, die keinem fehlen darf. Jeder ist offenbar nur dann ein guter Handwerker, Kaufmann, Soldat und Geschäftsmann, wenn er an sich und ohne Hinsicht auf seinen besonderen Beruf ein guter, anständiger, seinem Stande nach aufgeklärter Mensch und Bürger ist. Gibt ihm der Schulunterricht, was hierfür erforderlich ist, so erwirbt er die besondere Fähigkeit seines Berufs nachher so leicht und behält immer die Freiheit, wie im Leben so oft geschieht, von einem zum andern überzugehen."

"Durch die gegenseitige Abhängigkeit des Gedankens, und des Wortes von einander leuchtet es klar ein, daß die Sprachen nicht eigentlich Mittel sind, die schonerkannte Welt darzustellen, sondern weit mehr, die vorher unerkannte zu entdecken. Ihre Verschiedenheit ist nicht eine von Schällen und Zeichen, sondern eine Verschiedenheit der Weltansichten selbst. Hierin ist der Grund, und der letzte Zweck aller Sprachuntersuchung enthalten. Die Summe des Erkennbaren liegt, als das von dem menschlichen Geiste zu bearbeitende Feld, zwischen allen Sprachen, und unabhängig von ihnen, in der Mitte; der Mensch kann sich diesem rein objectiven Gebiet nicht anders, als nach seiner Erkennungs- und Empfindungsweise, also auf einem subjectiven Wege, nähern."

"True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united."

"Governmental regulations all carry coercion to some degree, and even where they don't, they habituate man to expect teaching, guidance and help outside himself, instead of formulating his own."