Quotes by Jean Paul Richter

Has it never occurred to us, when surrounded by sorrows, that they may be sent to us only for our instruction.

Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in life.

Never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another.

How narrow our souls become when absorbed in any present good or ill! It is only the thought of the future that makes them great.

Sleep, riches, and health, to be truly enjoyed, must be interrupted.

In later life, as in earlier, only a few persons influence the formation of our character; the multitude pass us by like a distant army. One friend, one teacher, one beloved, one club, one dining table, one work table are the means by which one's nation and the spirit of one's nation affect the individual.

A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.

It has been jestingly said that the works of John Paul Richter are almost unintelligible to any but the Germans, and even to some of them. A worthy German, just before Richter's death, edited a complete edition of his works, in which one particular passage fairly puzzled him. Determined to have it explained at the source, he went to John Paul himself. The author's reply was very characteristic: "My good friend, when I wrote that passage, God and I knew what it meant; it is possible that God knows it still; but as for me, I have totally forgotten."

The last, best fruit which comes to late perfection, even in the kindliest soul, is tenderness toward the hard, forbearance toward the unforbearing, warmth of heart toward the cold, philanthropy toward the misanthropic.

Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good; try to use ordinary situations.