Bertolt Brecht Quotes

Society cannot share a common communication system so long as it is split into warring factions.

Poverty makes you wise but it's a curse.

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

You have to attack once the truth is too weak to defend itself.

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

No one can be good for long if goodness is not in demand.

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

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

Science knows only one commandment - contribute to science.

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

Little changes are the enemies of great changes.

Alas,we who wanted kindness, could not be kind ourselves.

Let nothing be called natural In an age of bloody confusion, Ordered disorder, planned caprice, And dehumanized humanity, lest all things Be held unalterable!

Right is its own defense.

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

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

Here today we huddle tight As the darkest heathens might The snow falls chilly on our skin The snow is forcing its way in. Hush, snow, come in with us to dwell: We were thrown out by Heaven as well.

Writers can't write as fast as governments make wars; because to write demands thinking.

Grub first, then ethics.

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

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

What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?

Those against politics are in favor of the politics inflicted upon them.

You can make a fresh start with your final breath.

It's never too late for those whose time has come.

The fate of man is man.

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

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

Don't tell me peace has broken out.

First the grub, then the morals.

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

Why be a man when you can be a success?

None will improve your lot If you yourself do not.

There are times when you have to choose between being human and having good taste.

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

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

If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors.

Life is short and so is money.

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

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

People who understand everything get no stories.

In the contradiction lies the hope.

Whenever there are great virtues, it's a sure sign something's wrong.

Poverty makes you sad as well as wise.

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

Art is not a mirror. Art is a hammer.

When something seems ‘the most obvious thing in the world’ it means that any attempt to understand the world has been given up.

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

General, your tank is a powerful vehicle it smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. but it has one defect: it needs a driver.

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