[alexander_busek]

I remember something Merkel attributed to her dad “Be more than you appear to be.” I had remembered reading it being attributed to someone much older.

That's a joke!

That would be comparable to an American saying that his father used to remark, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Though everyone knows its from "Poor Richard's Almanac" (by Benjamin Franklin).

Mehr Sein als Schein is the commonplace German expression - attributed to Moltke.

The rule of thumb is: When in doubt, attribute it to Goethe or - if it's salacious - to Oscar Wilde.

Regards,

[alternatives?]

That is who I had heard it was attributed to. But when researching on the web I was just getting her attributing it to her dad. LOL. One can’t trust the MSM to do any research.