The best genius is that which absorbs and assimilates everything without doing the least violence to its fundamental destiny - that which we call character - but rather improving it and enhancing it as far as possible.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- True genius absorbs everything, enhancing its core character without harming it.
- In plain terms
- Great genius builds on its essence.
- What can you take from it?
- Integrate new ideas while staying true to your core values.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you protect your core while learning new things?
- What influences have strengthened your character?
Another view
Absorbing everything can dilute focus.
More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life.
Permalink to quote #132 The deed is everything, the glory naught.
Permalink to quote #134 Reason can never be popular. Passions and feelings may become popular, but reason will always remain the sole property of a few eminent individuals.
Permalink to quote #131
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