--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Goethe says that in every human…" description: "\"When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in wait for us, \"invincible only by cheerfulness and equanimity,\" he does not mean that we can ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png" --- # When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in… ![“When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in wait for us, "invincible only by cheerfulness and equanimity," he does not mean that we can at all times be really cheerful, or at a moment's notice; but that the endeavor to look at the better side of things will produce the habit, and…” quote by Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png) > “When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in wait for us, "invincible only by cheerfulness and equanimity," he does not mean that we can at all times be really cheerful, or at a moment's notice; but that the endeavor to look at the better side of things will produce the habit, and that this habit is the surest safeguard against the danger of sudden evils.” [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cheerfulness and calmness help us face adversity, forming a protective habit. **In simple terms:** Calm optimism guards against sudden trouble. Key Takeaway Cultivate steady optimism. Themes resilience optimism habit formation Mood hopeful steady Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crises - health challenges - financial setbacks Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice calm in crisis? - What habits build resilience? A Different Perspective Maintaining cheerfulness constantly is unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Cheerfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerfulness/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Endeavor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavor/) [Equanimity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equanimity/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Foe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foe/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Invincible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invincible/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“a man must take his children on trust—isn’t that what Goethe says?\* CAPTAIN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/a-man-must-take-his-children-on-trust-isn-t-that-what-goethe-says/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [We really cannot see what equanimity there is in jerking a lacerated carp out of the water by the jaws, merely because it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/we-really-cannot-see-what-equanimity-there-is-in-jerking-a-lacerated/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [“Treat others as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming.” Goethe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-moore/treat-others-as-if-they-were-what-they-ought-to-be-and-you-will-help/) Mike Moore > [“Lo que habéis heredado de vuestros padres, volvedlo a ganar a pulso o no será vuestro”, dice Goethe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-alicia-chavez/lo-que-hab-is-heredado-de-vuestros-padres-volvedlo-a-ganar-a-pulso-o/) Martha Alicia Chavez > [What am I then...? Everything that I have seen, heard, and observed I have collected and exploited. My works have been nourished by countless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-am-i-then-everything-that-i-have-seen-heard-and-observed-i-have/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Goethe had long since remarked that nationalistic feelings ‘are at their strongest and most violent where there is the lowest degree of culture’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/goethe-had-long-since-remarked-that-nationalistic-feelings-are-at/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [“do you know the land where the lemon-trees blossom;where the golden oranges glow in the dark foliage''.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/do-you-know-the-land-where-the-lemon-trees-blossom-where-the-golden/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [“Sometimes when reading Goethe I have a paralyzing suspicion that he is trying to be funny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/sometimes-when-reading-goethe-i-have-a-paralyzing-suspicion-that-he/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“It was the period in Germany of Goethe’s highest fame. Notwithstanding his rather condescending attitude towards patriotism he had been adopted as the national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-somerset-maugham/it-was-the-period-in-germany-of-goethe-s-highest-fame-notwithstanding/) [William Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-somerset-maugham/) > [“We should talk less and draw more. (Goethe)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huxley-aldous-2/we-should-talk-less-and-draw-more-goethe/) Huxley Aldous > [Goethe tells us in his greatest poem that Faust lost the liberty of his soul when he said to the passing moment, 'Stay, thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/goethe-tells-us-in-his-greatest-poem-that-faust-lost-the-liberty-of/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“Night knew no bounds. Goethe, on a moonlit evening in Naples, was “overwhelmed by a feeling of infinite space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-roger-ekirch/night-knew-no-bounds-goethe-on-a-moonlit-evening-in-naples-was/) A. Roger Ekirch > [“Someone once told me people write down stories because they would like to forget, and those who read are those who would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zelazny/someone-once-told-me-people-write-down-stories-because-they-would/) John Zelazny > [“Goethe, the great nineteenth-century thinker, reportedly summed up, “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/goethe-the-great-nineteenth-century-thinker-reportedly-summed-up-you/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) ## More by Leigh Hunt > [Oh for a seat in some poetic nook, Just hid with trees and sparkling with a brook!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/oh-for-a-seat-in-some-poetic-nook-just-hid-with-trees-and-sparkling/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [The most tangible of all visible mysteries - fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-most-tangible-of-all-visible-mysteries-fire/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Jenny kissed me when we met, Jumping from the chair she sat in; Time, you thief, who love to get Sweets into your list,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/jenny-kissed-me-when-we-met-jumping-from-the-chair-she-sat-in-time/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [With spots of sunny openings, and with nooks To lie and read in, sloping into brooks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/with-spots-of-sunny-openings-and-with-nooks-to-lie-and-read-in/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Light is, perhaps, the most wonderful of all visible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/light-is-perhaps-the-most-wonderful-of-all-visible-things/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Stolen kisses are always sweetest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/stolen-kisses-are-always-sweetest/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [We are violets blue, For our sweetness found Careless in the mossy shades, Looking on the ground. Love's dropp'd eyelids and a kiss,-- Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/we-are-violets-blue-for-our-sweetness-found-careless-in-the-mossy/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [If you are melancholy for the first time, you will find, upon a little inquiry, that others have been melancholy many times, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/if-you-are-melancholy-for-the-first-time-you-will-find-upon-a-little/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Affection, like melancholy, magnifies trifles; but the magnifying of the one is like looking through a telescope at heavenly objects; that of the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/affection-like-melancholy-magnifies-trifles-but-the-magnifying-of-the/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [The person who can be only serious or only cheerful, is but half a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-person-who-can-be-only-serious-or-only-cheerful-is-but-half-a-man/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Write me as one who loves his fellow men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/write-me-as-one-who-loves-his-fellow-men/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Danger for danger's sake is senseless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/danger-for-danger-s-sake-is-senseless/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [The only place a new hat can be carried into with safety is a church, for there is plenty of room there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-only-place-a-new-hat-can-be-carried-into-with-safety-is-a-church/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [There seems a life in hair, though it be dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/there-seems-a-life-in-hair-though-it-be-dead/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) > [Happy opinions are the wine of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/happy-opinions-are-the-wine-of-the-heart/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) [Explore all 112 Leigh Hunt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) ## More All time quotes > [To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. 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Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [I'm big on tomato mozzarella salad. That's my favorite all-time food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-fields/i-m-big-on-tomato-mozzarella-salad-that-s-my-favorite-all-time-food/) [Jan Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-fields/) > [If you are my friend,you are down for me at all times,not just when it's convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-v/if-you-are-my-friend-you-are-down-for-me-at-all-times-not-just-when/) [Jasmine V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-v/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. 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One for entrees, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eggert/for-all-the-concern-about-bodies-and-weight-baywatch-has-three-huge/) [Nicole Eggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eggert/) > ['Lost Boys' is one of my all-time faves. I just thought it would be great to be a vampire. I remember this movie called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-headey/lost-boys-is-one-of-my-all-time-faves-i-just-thought-it-would-be/) [Lena Headey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-headey/) > [I have a constant kind of soundtrack going on at all times. I almost always have a song in my head. I'm very musically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-davie/i-have-a-constant-kind-of-soundtrack-going-on-at-all-times-i-almost/) [Erin Davie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-davie/) > [Lord, make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. 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This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-key-is-to-be-in-a-state-of-permanent-connectedness-with-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,525 All time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in wait for us, \"invincible only by cheerfulness and equanimity,\" he does not mean that we can at all times be really cheerful, or at a moment's notice; but that the endeavor to look at the better side of things will produce the habit, and that this habit is the surest safeguard against the danger of sudden evils.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leigh Hunt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-condition-foes-lie-in-wait-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-condition-foes-lie-in-wait-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/faa/leigh-hunt-4374_all-time_when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-con_2514264.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When Goethe says that in every human condition foes lie in wait for us, \"invincible only by cheerfulness and…” — Leigh Hunt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leigh Hunt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When Goethe says that in every...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-condition-foes-lie-in-wait-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/when-goethe-says-that-in-every-human-condition-foes-lie-in-wait-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```