Coercion may prevent many transgressions; but it robs even actions which are legal of a portion of their beauty. Freedom may lead to many transgressions, but it lends even to vices a less ignoble form.
Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) German philologist, diplomat
The Limits of State Action, ch. 8 (1792) [tr. Coulthard (1854)]
Quotations by:
Humboldt, Wilhelm von
I am convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends more upon the way in which we meet the events of life than upon the nature of those events themselves.
Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) German philologist, diplomat
Letter to Charlotte von Stein (12 Jan 1824) [tr. Couper (1849)]Full text.
Alt. trans.:
- "For the light and shade, the happiness and unhappiness of a man's life, depend on the disposition with which he regards it. " [Stebbing (1849)]
- "I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves."
The manner in which a man views his fate is more important than what his fate is.
Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) German philologist, diplomat
Letter to Charlotte von Stein (6 Sep 1825) [tr. Stebbing (1849)]Full text.
Alt. trans.:
- "It is far more important how we accept our fortune than what that fortune really may be." [tr. Couper (1824)]
- "How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is."
See also this earlier letter.