“The good I wish for is far away; the evil I flee is near me.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · Faust · 1808 · Partea I, versurile 3595-3596
Good demands a long road; evil is always one step away.
Goethe captures a fundamental asymmetry of moral experience: the good demands effort, time, and a long road, while evil is immediate, familiar, ready at a moment's notice. It is not mere complaint but an observation about the structure of desire: genuine fulfillment requires patience and work, and temptation is always closer. A person trying to build something lasting, a career, a marriage, a body of work, feels that everything worthwhile is far off while destructive shortcuts sit right beside him.
Why it matters It speaks to anyone wrestling with procrastination or easy temptations that postpone exactly what would matter long-term.