Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799)
German scientist, satirist and philosopher.
Food probably has a very great influence on the condition of men. Wine exercises a more visible influence, food does it more slowly but perhaps just as surely. Who knows if a well-prepared soup was not responsible for the pneumatic pump or a poor one for a war?
Man loves company — even if it is only that of a small burning candle.
Be wary of passing the judgment: obscure. To find something obscure poses no difficulty: elephants and poodles find many things obscure.
The great rule: If the little bit you have is nothing special in itself, at least find a way of saying it that is a little bit special.
Much can be inferred about a man from his mistress: in her one beholds his weaknesses and his dreams.
The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.
It is said that truth comes from the mouths of fools and children: I wish every good mind which feels an inclination for satire would reflect that the finest satirist always has something of both in him.
Cultivate that kind of knowledge which enables us to discover for ourselves in case of need that which others have to read or be told of.
If it is permissible to write plays that are not intended to be seen, I should like to see who can prevent me from writing a book no one can read.
There are people who believe everything is sane and sensible that is done with a solemn face. ... It is no great art to say something briefly when, like Tacitus, one has something to say; when one has nothing to say, however, and none the less writes a whole book and makes truth ... into a liar — that I call an achievement.
One is rarely an impulsive innovator after the age of sixty, but one can still be a very fine orderly and inventive thinker. One rarely procreates children at that age, but one is all the more skilled at educating those who have already been procreated, and education is procreation of another kind.
To receive applause for works which do not demand all our powers hinders our advance towards a perfecting of our spirit. It usually means that thereafter we stand still.
We may use Lichtenberg’s writings as the most wonderful dowsing rod: wherever he makes a joke, there a problem lies hidden.