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He was one of the last great Renaissance men, a polymath whose reputations as statesman, artist, philosopher, and naturalist almost equaled his mastery of every literary genre. His shadow has fallen on every German writer since. But it is in poetry where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is at his best. Yet while the several translations of his major works testify of their literary significance, most of his poetry remains inaccessible to English speakers. This volume of his so-called proverbs-brief rhyming maxims-introduces Goethe's poetic wisdom and craft into the English language. Includes original German text, English translation, preface, and bibliography.