Julius Sergius Klever, "Blühender Mohn" (1905)

 Let our lives be pure as snow-fields, where our footsteps leave a mark, but not a stain.

*

There are souls which, like the pontiffs of the ancient law, live only on the sacrifices they offer.

*

There are people who never speak of themselves, for fear of interrupting their own introspection.

*

Those who hace suffered much are like those who know many languages: they have learned to understand an be understood by all.

 *

There are words which are worth as much as the best actions, for they contain the germ of them all.

 *

We are always looking into the future, but we see only the past.

*

He who has ceased to enjoy his friend's superiority  has ceased to love him.

 *

To have ideas is to gather flowers. To think is to weave them into garlands.

Madame Swetchine (1782-1857). The writings of Madame Swetchine. Translate by H.W. Preston. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1869.