The greatest happiness for the thinking man is to have fathomed the fathomable, and to quietly revere the unfathomable.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The thinker finds joy in understanding what can be understood and respects the mysteries that remain beyond comprehension.
- In plain terms
- Happiness comes from grasping the knowable and revering the unknowable.
- What can you take from it?
- Balance curiosity with humility.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What mysteries do you cherish?
- How do you react to unsolvable problems?
Another view
Over‑reverence for the unknowable can discourage further inquiry.
More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Doubt grows with knowledge.
Permalink to quote #88 First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth.
Permalink to quote #90 Nothing is more damaging to a new truth than an old error.
Permalink to quote #87
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