A talent forms itself in solitude,
A character amid the stream of life.

[Es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille,
Sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist

Torquato Tasso, Act 1, sc. 2, ll. 304-305 [Leonora] (1790) [tr. Ryder (1993)]
    (Source)

(Source (German)). Alternate translations:

• "A talent doth in stillness form itself -- / A character on life's unquiet stream." [tr. Des Voeux (1827)]
• "Talents are nurtured best in solitude, -- / A character on life's tempestuous sea." [tr. Swanwick (1843)]
• "Man's talent ripens in tranquility, / His character in battling with the world." [tr. Cartwright (1861)]
• "A talent in tranquility is formed, / A character in the turbulence of affairs." [tr. Hamburger (20th C)]
• "Talent develops in quiet places, / Character in the full current of human life."
• Talents are best nurtured in solitude; / Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.
• "Genius is formed in quiet, / Character in the stream of human life."