goethe's he who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth explaination please?

Question

i need the explaintion to

he who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth
goethe

Answer 1

"The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenge." --Martin Luther King Jr.

In other words, there is a lot of knowledge on the Planet Earth. If you cannot solve a problem with 3,000 years history, you are living an impoverished life. (A hand-to-mouth existence is one in which you are barely existing. Synonyms: breadline, mere existence, pauperism, poverty trap, subsistence level.) I believe Goethe refers to poverty in a metaphorical or symbolic way.