Guest Author - Lisa Shea

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived from 1749 to 1832. A brilliant man who first went into law, Goethe became the manger of the Court Theater and is famous for his brilliant work Faust.

Goethe was a smart child but did not receive a steady education. His family sent him to Leipzig to study law and by 1771 he was settled in Frankfurt to start his career. Instead he wrote Götz von Berlichingen which set his place as a key literary figure in German's intellectual society.

In 1775, Duke Karl August tapped Goethe to become his Court Theater manager. Goethe then spent the rest of his long life working on Faust, based on a legend. It was a story that Marlowe covered with his famous Dr. Faustus, but Goethe put a new spin on the story.

Quotations from Goethe:

"A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days."

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."

"Divide and rule, a sound motto. Unite and lead, a better one."

"Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must."

"Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable."