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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

18 free books by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 18 you can read right here.

Born 1749 in Frankfurt · Died 1832 in Weimar

writer, novelist, poet, playwright · Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach · associated with Sturm und Drang, Weimar Classicism

Notable works: Faust, The Sorrows of Young Werther, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Elective Affinities, Prometheus

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Facts from Wikidata (Q5879), retrieved 2026-09-26.

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Quotes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s books

Verified word for word in the text: each quote is copied exactly from the book’s text in this site’s reader (the Project Gutenberg e-text named under each book) and links to its passage; when this page was built, every quote was checked word for word against that text. How RedLectern is built.

The Sorrows of Young Werther

From Project Gutenberg e-text #2527 (public domain in the USA).

Must it ever be thus,—that the source of our happiness must also be the fountain of our misery?

I. MAY 4Read in context →

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine.

I. MAY 4Read in context →

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Goethe's Theory of Colours

From Project Gutenberg e-text #50572 (public domain in the USA).

Experience teaches us that particular colours excite particular states of feeling.

VI. EFFECT OF COLOUR WITH REFERENCE TO MORAL ASSOCIATIONSRead in context →

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