Life is only error,
And death is knowledge.Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
“Cassandra” (1802)
Quotations by:
Schiller, Friedrich
A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
“On Grace and Dignity”, Aesthetical and Philosophical Essays
Alt trans.: "The enemy which only is overturned can rise up again, but the enemy reconciled is truly vanquished." Source.
Happy is he who learns to bear what he cannot change!
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
“On the Sublime”
Man is created free, and is free,
Though he be born in chains.Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
“The Word of the Faithful [Die Worte des Glaubens],” st. 2 (1797)
Joy, thou spark from Heav’n immortal,
Daughter of Elysium!
Drunk with fire, toward Heaven advancing
Goddess, to thy shrine we come.
Thy sweet magic brings together
What stern Custom spreads afar;
All men become brothers
Where thy happy wing-beats are.Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
An die Freude [Ode to Joy], st. 1 (1785)
Opposition may inflame the enthusiast but never converts him.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
Love and Intrigue, 3.1 (1784)
TALBOT: The voice of the majority is no proof of justice.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
Maria Stuart (1800)
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain.[Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens]
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
The Maid of Orleans [Die Jungfrau von Orleans], Act III, sc. vi (1801) [tr. Swanwick]
Alt. trans:
- "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
- "Against stupidity the gods themselves labor in vain."
- "Against stupidity the gods themselves fight unvictorious."
- "Against stupidity even the gods contend in vain."
- "With stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."
- "With stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain."
Pain is short, and joy is eternal.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
The Maid of Orleans [Die Jungfrau von Orleans], final line (1801)
When the wine goes in, strange things come out.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
The Piccolomini and the Death of Wallenstein, II.xii (1799)
He that is overcautious will accomplish nothing.
[Wer gar zu viel bedenkt, wird wenig leisten.]
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
Wilhelm Tell (1804)
You saw his weakness; that he’ll never forgive.
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
William Tell, 3.1 (1804) [tr. Martin (1894)]