“The work of the eyes is done. Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you.”

— Rainer Maria Rilke, Wendung (Turning Point), tr. Stephen Mitchell

About Rainer Maria Rilke

1875 – 1926

Austro-Bohemian poet, best known for 'Letters to a Young Poet' (written 1903–1908, published 1929) and 'Duino Elegies'.

“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart, and try to love the questions themselves.”

“A good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude.”

“I could give you no advice but this: to go into yourself and to explore the depths where your life wells forth.”

“For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace unto every Art.”

“"Men work together," I told him from the heart, "whether they work together or apart."”

“Love is a great force in private life; it is indeed the greatest of all things; but love in public affairs does not work.”

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it is the wellspring of life.”

“Those who inflict must suffer, for they see The work of their own hearts, and this must be Our chastisement or recompense.”

“At heart, the issues raised in a work of fantasy are those we face in real life.”