There will come a day for each of us, more or less sad, more or less distant, when we must accept the condition of being human.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
(Attributed)
Quotations by:
Anouilh, Jean
CREON: To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It’s easy to say no, even if it means dying.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Antigone (1942)
CHORUS: It is restful, tragedy, because one knows that there is no more lousy hope left. You know you’re caught, caught at last like a rat with all the world on its back. And the only thing left to do is shout — not moan, or complain, but yell out at the top of your voice whatever it was you had to say. What you’ve never said before. What perhaps you don’t even know till now.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Antigone (1942)
BECKET: Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Becket or The Honor of God [Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu], Act 1 (1959)
BECKET: Saintliness is also a temptation.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Becket or The Honor of God [Becket ou l’honneur de Dieu], Act 3 (1959)
BECKET: Beauty is one of the few things which don’t shake one’s faith in God.
[Le beauté est une des rares choses qui ne font pas douter de Dieu.]
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Becket, Act 1 (1959) [tr. Hill (1960)]
(Source)
The official English translation approved by Anouilh. (Source (French)). Alternate translations:
Beauty is one of the very few things that don't shake one's faith in God.
[tr. Raphael and Raphael (2004)]
Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God.
[Frequently found translation, but source unknown]
KING : Am I the strongest or am I not?
BECKET: You are, today. But one must never drive one’s enemy to despair. It makes him strong. Gentleness is better politics. It saps virility. A good occupational force must never crush, it must corrupt.Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Becket, Act 2 (1959) [tr. Hill (1961)
(Source)
The lines remain intact in Edward Anhalt's 1964 screenplay.
But one cannot weep for the entire world. It is beyond human strength. One must choose.
[On ne peut pleurer pour le monde entier : C’est au-delà des forces humaines. Il faut choisir!]
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Cecile; or The School for Fathers [L’Ecole Des Peres] [The Chevalier] (1951) [tr. Klein (1956)]
(Source)
LE CHEVALIER: One cannot weep for the entire world, it is beyond human strength. One must choose.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Cécile (1954)
There will always be a lost dog somewhere that will prevent me being happy.
[Il y aura toujours un chien perdu quelque part qui m’empêchera d’être heureux.]
Things are beautiful if you love them.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Mademoiselle Colombe, Act 2, sc. 2 (1950) [tr. Kronenberger (1954)]
(Source)
To die is nothing. Begin by living. It’s less funny and lasts longer.
[Mourir, ce n’est rien. Commence donc par vivre. C’est moins drôle et c’est plus long.]
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Roméo et Jeannette, Act 3 (1946) [tr. (1949)]
ARCHBISHOP: With God, what is terrible is that one never knows whether it’s not just a trick of the devil.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
The Lark [L’Alouette] (1952)