Wood burns because it has the proper stuff for that purpose in it; and a man becomes renowned because he has the necessary stuff in him. Renown is not to be sought, and all pursuit of it is vain. A person may, indeed, by skillful conduct and various artificial means, make a sort of name for himself; but if the inner jewel is wanting, all is vanity, and will not last a day.

Wood burns because it has the proper stuff for that purpose in it; and a man becomes renowned because he has the necessary stuff in him. Renown is not to be sought, and all pursuit of it is vain. A person may, indeed, by skillful conduct and various artificial means, make a sort of name for himself; but if the inner jewel is wanting, all is vanity, and will not last a day.

Source

Many Thoughts of Many Minds (1896)
Glory · anthology attribution: Goethe
Read the original context ↗

Attribution confidence

attributed · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified.

Historical coordinate

Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection.

Rights & edition

Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗