Bertolt Brecht quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Bertolt Brecht on Wise Famous Quotes.

Love is the wish to give, not to receive.

We often do not know ourselves the grounds On which we act, though plain to others.

Carpenter: "Call Shen Te, someone! She's good!"
Shui Ta: "Certainly. She's ruined.

In the dark times will there be singing?
Yes. There will be singing about the dark times.

How can one remain free of every weakness, above all of the most deadly, of love?

Impact lies in the vicinity of mistakes.

Corpses sour you. They are bad for objectivity.

Come in, dear wind, and be our guest You too have neither home nor rest.

The finest plans are always ruined by the littleness of those who ought to carry them out, for emperor himself can actually be nothing.

The law was made for one thing alone, for the exploitation of those who don't understand it, or are prevented by naked misery from obeying it.

Sometimes it's more important to be human, than to have good taste.

What are you working on?" Mr. K. was asked. Mr. K. replied: "I'm having a hard time; I'm preparing my next mistake.

If you join the rat race - you're in the race of rats.

What keeps a man alive?
He feeds on others.

It is easier to rob by setting up a bank than by holding up a bank clerk.

Thinking is one of the greatest pleasures of the human race.

He who is still laughing is he who hasn't heard the terrible news.

You can't write poems about trees when the woods are full of policemen.

One cannot write poems about trees when the forest is full of police.

Old Man, right (sighing): Death to the fascists!

For the task assigned them Men aren't smart enough or sly Any rogue can blind them With a clever lie.

Though the rich of this earth find no difficulty in creating misery, they can't bear to see it.

Unhappiness doesn't grow on the chest like leprosy. Poverty won't fall off the roof like a loose tile, no; poverty and unhappiness are man's doing.

Don't tell me peace has broken out.

Don't be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life.

Every time you name yourself, you name someone else.

The defeats and victories of the fellows at the top aren't always defeats and victories for the fellows at the bottom.

As regards obstacles, the shortest distance between two points can be a curve.

I don't know what a man is. Only that every man has his price.

People who fight may lose. People who do not fight have already lost.

Every day, to earn my daily bread I go to the market where lies are bought Hopefully I take up my place among the sellers.

Spring is noticed, if at all By people sitting in railway trains.

For art to be 'unpolitical' means only to ally itself with the 'ruling' group.

Unhappily, my wife is expecting me in connection with a fish

Mixing one's wines may be a mistake, but old and new wisdom mix admirably.

Life is short and so is money.

I won't let you spoil my war for me. Destroys the weak, does it? Well, what does peace do for'em, huh? War feeds its people better.

But something's missing ( Aber etwas fehlt ).

Those who have had no share in the good fortunes of the mighty Often have a share in their misfortunes.

A man who strains himself on the stage is bound, if he is any good, to strain all the people sitting in the stalls.

The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error.

Reality changes; in order to represent it, modes of representation must change.

If you wan to steal money, don't rob a bank - open one.

Fearful is the seductive power of goodness.

Don't expect the theatre to satisfy the habits of its audience, but to change them.

One can describe the world of today to the people of today only if one describes it as capable of alteration.

That cloud, however, blossomed just for minutes
And when I gazed up, faded in the wind.

The rain Never falls upwards. When the wound Stops hurting What hurts is The scar.

Righteous people have no sense of humor.

Only bad generals need heroes.

If you don't have fun, you don't have a show.

Temptation to behave is terrible.

and you i beg make not your anger manifest. For all that lives needs help from all the rest.

People who understand everything get no stories.

One must live well to know what living is.

There are many elements to a campaign. Leadership is number one. Everything else is number two.

From the cradle to the coffin underwear comes first.

All the gang of those who rule us Hope our quarrels never stop Helping them to split and fool us So they can remain on top.

For the wickedness of the world is so great you have to run your legs off in order to avoid having them stolen from under you.

I don't trust him. We're friends.

What kind of times are these, when
To talk about trees is almost a crime
Because it implies silence about so many horrors?

General, man is very useful. He can fly and he can kill. But he has one defect: He can think.

He says he'd like to kiss the ground you walk on-reminds me, did you wash them yesterday?- and after that you're his skivvy.

Schoenberg is too melodious for me, too sweet.

Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.

People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart.

Love is also like a coconut which is good while it is fresh, but you have to spit it out when the juice is gone, what's left tastes bitter.

Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm. War grows from their peace.

Bank robbery is an initiative of amateurs. True professionals establish a bank.

Why be a man when you can be a success.

The headlong stream is termed violent
But the river bed hemming it in
Is termed violent by no one.

You can make a fresh start with your final breath.

What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.

It is simplicity that is difficult to make.

He who fights, can lose. He who doesn't fight, has already lost.

The world of knowledge takes a crazy turn when teachers themselves are taught to learn.

Go make yourself a plan And be a shining light. Then make yourself a second plan, For neither will come right.

Little changes are the enemies of great changes.

You may proclaim, good sirs, your fine philosophy But till you feed us, right and wrong can wait!

Proof seduces them. One of the greatest pleasures of the human race is thinking.

Poverty makes you wise but it's a curse.

Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero!
No, Andrea ... unhappy is the land that needs a hero.

When the waters poured into Atlantis, the rich men still screamed for their slaves.

A man who doesn't know the truth is just an idiot, but a man who knows the truth and calls it a lie is a crook.

Right is its own defense.

Everyone needs help from everyone.

There must always be some who are brighter and some who are stupider, the latter make up for it by being better workers.

Such a lot is won when even a single man gets to his feet and says No

For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again.

People are too durable, that's their main trouble. They can do too much to themselves, they last too long.

Who struggles can fail. Who doesn't struggle has already failed!

When the praying does no good, insurance does help.

Never believe on faith, see for yourself! What you yourself don't learn you don't know.

I'm in good form, taking no interest in things, neglecting clothes, meals, company, and feeling calm and stable as I write.

Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.

With drooping shoulders The majority sit hunched, their foreheads furrowed like Stony ground that has been repeatedly ploughed-up to no purpose.

It is many years ago and at times I know nothing about her anymore who was once all things to me but all things pass. (The Eleventh Psalm)

Oh why do we not say the important things, it would be so easy, and we are damned because we do not.

What's a joy to the one is a nightmare to the other.

Grub first, then ethics.