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The person engaged in action is always unconscionable; no one except the contemplative has a conscience.

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Maxims and Reflections (1833)

Der Handelnde ist immer gewissenlos; es hat niemand Gewissen als der Betrachtende.

Original text (German)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Maxim 241, trans. Stopp

Variants

The man of action is always unprincipled; none but the contemplative has a conscience

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More quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A mathematician is only perfect insofar as he is a perfect man, sensitive to the beauty of truth.

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Of freedom and of life he only is deserving
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Properly speaking, such work is never finished; one must declare it so when, according to time and circumstances, one has done one's best.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.