Christoph Martin Wieland was a German poet and writer. He is best-remembered for having written the first Bildungsroman , as well as the epic Oberon, which formed the basis for Carl Maria von Weber's opera of the same name. His thought was representative of the cosmopolitanism of the German Enlightenment, exemplified in his remark: "Only a true cosmopolitan can be a good citizen." Wikipedia
“An illusion which makes me happy is worth a verity which drags me to the ground.”
Ein Wahn, der mich beglückt,
Ist eine Wahrheit werth, die mich zu Boden drückt.
Idris, ein heroisch-comisches Gedicht, Song 3, line 79 (1768); translation from Harry T. Reis and Caryl E. Rusbult (eds.) Close Relationships (New York: Psychology Press, 2004) p. 321.
“Saddle the Hippogriffs, ye Muses nine,
And straight we'll ride to the land of old Romance.”
Noch einmahl sattelt mir den Hippogryfen, ihr Musen,
Zum Ritt ins alte romantische Land!
Oberon, Song 1, st. 1 (1780) http://www.archive.org/stream/oberon02187gut/7ober10.txt; translation from Frederick Metcalfe History of German Literature (London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts, 1858) p. 109.
“To do nothing by halves is the way of noble spirits.”
Nichts halb zu thun ist edler Geister Art.
Oberon, Song 5, st. 30 http://www.archive.org/stream/oberon02187gut/7ober10.txt; translation from A. B. Faust (ed.) Oberon (New York: F. S. Crofts, 1940) p. 326.
“And less is often more, as Lessing's Prince teaches us.”
Und minder ist oft mehr, wie Lessings Prinz uns lehrt.
"Neujahrswunsch", in Der Teutsche Merkur (January 1774) p. 4; translation from The Quote…Unquote Newsletter (October 1997) p. 3.
The phrase "Less is more" was later used by Robert Browning, and by Mies van der Rohe.
Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813) Philosophy Considered As The Art Of Life And Healing Art Of The Soul P. 132
