The Works of J. W. von Goethe/Volume 9/Proverbs ("A breach is every day")
PROVERBS.
A breach is every day,
By many a mortal stormed;
Let them fall in the gaps as they may,
Yet a heap of dead is ne'er formed.
What harm has thy poor mirror done, alas?
Look not so ugly, prythee, in the glass!
One of the mightiest actions is that
When one fries himself in his own fat.