First of all, they came to take the gypsiesand I was happy because they pilfered.Then they came to take the Jews and I said nothing, because they were unpleasant to me.Then they came to take...

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

The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the...

Sin is what is new, strong, surprising, strange. The theatre must take an interest in sin if the young are to be able to go there.

Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes

Sto lavorando duro per preparare il mio prossimo errore.

I’m having a hard time; I’m preparing my next mistake.

The human race tends to remember the abuses to which it has been subjected rather than the endearments. What’s left of kisses? Wounds, however, leave scars.

On a certain day in the blue-moon month of SeptemberBeneath a young plum tree, quietlyI held her there, my quiet, pale belovedIn my arms just like a graceful dream.And over us in the beautiful summer...

Potkupljivost je u ljudi isto što u Boga milosrđe.

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

Natürlich muss die Wahrheit im Kampf mit der Unwahrheit geschrieben werden und sie darf nicht etwas Allgemeines, Hohes, Vieldeutiges sein. Von dieser allgemeinen, hohen, vieldeutigen Art ist ja gerade die Unwahrheit. Wenn von einem gesagt...

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.

Some party hack decreed that the peoplehad lost the government’s confidenceand could only regain it with redoubled effort.If that is the case, would it not be be simpler,If the government simply dissolved the peopleAnd elected...

For what’s the use of talking with a man who has a disease and thinks about the stars?

Everyone chases after happiness, not noticing that happiness is at their heels.

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

Those who are weak don’t fight.Those who are stronger might fightfor an hour.Those who are stronger still might fightfor many years.The strongest fighttheir whole life.They are the indispensable ones.

The aim of science is not to open the door to everlasting truth, but to set a limit on everlasting error.

Corpses sour you. They are bad for objectivity.

Unglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat

In my poetry a rhymeWould seem to me almost insolent.Inside me contendDelight at the apple tree in blossomAnd horror at the house-painter’s speeches.But only the secondDrives me to my desk.

Bei den Hochgestellten gilt das Reden vom Essen als niedrig. Das kommt: sie haben schon gegessen.

People who understand everything get no stories.

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

Hatred of oppression still distorts the features,Anger at injustice still makes voices raised and ugly.Oh we, who wished to lay for the foundations for peace and friendliness,Could never be friendly ourselves.

EpitaphDen Tigern ertrann ichDie Wanzen nährte ichAufgefressen wurde ichVon den Mittelmäßigkeiten.

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.

Dabei wissen wir doch:Auch der Hass gegen die NiedrigkeitVerzerrt die Züge.Auch der Zorn über das UnrechtMacht die Stimme heiser. Ach, wirDie wir den Boden bereiten wollten für FreundlichkeitKonnten selber nicht freundlich sein.

The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to...

What is robbing a bank compared to founding one?

If you join the rat race — you’re in the race of rats.

We attacked a foreign people and treated them like rebels. As you know, it’s all right to treat barbarians barbarically. It’s the desire to be barbaric that makes governments call their enemies barbarians.

We’re not responsible, he thought. This planet is a temporary affair. It’s whizzing with all kinds of other ones, a whole range of planetary stuff, toward a star in the Milky Way. On that kind...

The war which is comingIs not the first one. There wereOther wars before it.When the last one came to an endThere were conquerors and conquered.Among the conquered the common peopleStarved. Among the conquerorsThe common people...

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