Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
A German may dislike the French but still enjoys their wine.
In plain terms
You can dislike a culture yet appreciate its products.
What can you take from it?
Separate personal bias from genuine appreciation.

Where it applies

  • traveling abroad
  • cross‑cultural trade

Putting it to work

  • sampling foreign goods
  • recognizing biases

Questions to consider

  • Do you separate dislike from enjoyment?
  • How do you handle cultural contradictions?

Another view

It stereotypes national attitudes and may not reflect individual views.

More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  1. Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.

    Permalink to quote #70

  2. He who maintains he's right-if his the gift of tongues- Will have the last word certainly.

    Permalink to quote #72

  3. Die Botschaft hor ich wohl, allein, mir fehlt der Glaube

    Permalink to quote #69

Related quotes

  1. It is a shameful sign of our arrogance that our history departments have almost no Chinese history in them, our literature courses almost no Chinese literature…

    Pearl BuckPearl Buck quote #6

  2. There are two Christmas traditions I've inherited from my mother. One is the feeling that Christmas isn't complete if you haven't got a ham as well as a turkey…

    Nigella LawsonNigella Lawson quote #1

  3. On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners.

    George MikesGeorge Mikes quote #1