Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk
Jean Paul Novelist
Gender: Male
Citizenship: Germany
Born: Mar 21, 1763
Died: Nov 14, 1825
Jean Paul (21 March 1763 - 14 November 1825), born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.
Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountains (Bavaria). His father was an organist at Wunsiedel. In 1765 his father became a pastor at Joditz near Hof, and in 1767 at Schwarzenbach, but he died on 25 April 1779, leaving the family in great poverty. After attending the Gymnasium at Hof, Jean Paul went in 1781 to the University of Leipzig. His original intention was to enter his father's profession, but theology did not interest him, and he soon devoted himself wholly to the study of literature. Unable to maintain himself at Leipzig he returned in 1784 to Hof, where he lived with his mother. From 1787 to 1789 he served as a tutor at Töpen, a village near Hof; and from 1790 to 1794 he taught the children of several families in a school he had founded in nearby Schwarzenbach.
Beauty attracts us men but if, like an armed magnet it is pointed, beside, with gold and silver, it attracts with tenfold power.
beauty & power
The darkness of death is like the evening twilight it makes all objects appear more lovely to the dying.
death
Death gives us sleep, eternal youth, and immortality.
death
Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.
birthday & time
Strong characters are brought out by change of situation, and gentle ones by permanence.
change & wisdom
Sorrows are like thunderclouds, in the distance they look black, over our heads scarcely gray.
sad
Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.
forgiveness
Every man regards his own life as the New Year's Eve of time.
life & time
For sleep, riches and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted.
health
The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
life & wisdom
Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it.
courage
What makes old age so sad is not that our joys but our hopes cease.
age & sad
Only actions give life strength only moderation gives it charm.
strength
Joy descends gently upon us like the evening dew, and does not patter down like a hailstorm.
inspirational