If something possesses no capacity for activity whatever, i… - Wilhelm von Humboldt

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If something possesses no capacity for activity whatever, it is nothing; it may be wholly penetrated, but it cannot be touched. Therefore passivity and reaction are everywhere equal.

Wilhelm von Humboldt

Humanist Without Portfolio: An Anthology of the writings of Wilhelm von Humboldt · 1963 Verified in 1 source Sign up to see the complete provenance

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About Wilhelm von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a government functionary, diplomat, philosopher, founder of Humboldt Universität in Berlin, a friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, and elder brother of naturalist Alexander von Humboldt who is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice of education.

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Alternative Names: Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt • Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt • Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt

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Originators like Wilhelm von Humboldt:

Immanuel Kant Benedictus de Spinoza Aristotle John Stuart Mill George Gurdjieff

Additional quotes by Wilhelm von Humboldt

Language is the infinite use of finite means.

Happiness is so nonsynonymous with joy or pleasure that it is not infrequently sought and felt in grief and deprivation.

All situations in which the interrelationships between extremes are involved are the most interesting and instructive.

If something possesses no capacity for activity whatever, it is nothing; it may be wholly penetrated, but it cannot be touched. Therefore passivity a… - Wilhelm von Humboldt

About Wilhelm von Humboldt

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Additional quotes by Wilhelm von Humboldt