I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut.

Goethe praises clarity of purpose as a moral and practical virtue. The “mischief” he points to is not merely personal failure but the wider harm caused when people act without understanding what they truly want—confusing means with ends, or pursuing borrowed ambitions. The image of building a tower on a hut’s foundation suggests disproportion: grand projects (in art, politics, love, or self-cultivation) demand commensurate groundwork—knowledge, discipline, and honest self-scrutiny. The remark implies that many conflicts and disappointments arise less from malice than from muddled aims, and that respect is due to those who can name their desire precisely and prepare adequately for it.