Christoph Martin Wieland quotes:

The compulsion of fate is bitter.

It is commonly a dangerous thing for a man to have more sense than his neighbors. Socrates paid for his superiority with his life; and if Aristotle saved his skin, it was by taking to his heels in time.

Man blindly works the will of fate.

Too oft is transient pleasure the source of long woes.

Endurance is the prerogative of woman, enabling the gentlest to suffer what would cause terror to manhood.

The cleverest of all the devils is Opportunity.

To do nothing by halves is the way of noble spirits.

Too oft is transient pleasure the source of long woes

Stupidity has its sublime as well as genius, and he who carries that quality to absurdity has reached it; which is always a source of amusement to sensible people.

For whatever a man has, is in reality only a gift.

Man blindly works the will of fate. [Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.]

An illusion which makes me happy is worth a verity which drags me to the ground.

I have often thought that however learned you may talk about it, one knows nothing but what he learns from his own experience. [Ger., Da dacht ich oft: schwatzt noch so hoch gelehrt, Man weiss doch nichts, als was man selbst erfahrt.]

To be silent is sometimes an art, yet not so great a one as certain people would have us believe, who are wisest they are most silent.