Frank Wedekind Quotes

The fog is clearing; life is a matter of taste.

I didn't ask to be born, and I don't owe God anything.

Wendla: How did you come here? Melchior: I followed my thoughts.

We see God and the devil blaming each other, and cherish the unspeakable belief that both of them are drunk.

I was a baby when I came into the world--otherwise I might have been smart enough to become a different person.

Monuments are for the living, not for the dead.

In my opinion it is unwise to judge a young man by his school record. We have too many examples of bad students becoming distinguished men, and, on the other hand, of brilliant students not being at all remarkable in life.

If I ever have children I will let them grow up like the weeds in our flower garden. Nobody worries about them and they grow so high and thick-while the roses in the beds grow poorer and poorer every summer.

We see God and the devil making fools of each other, and we nurture in ourselves the absolutely unshakable conviction that both of them are drunk.

And, therefore, hold your head high, Herr Stiefel!——Such a crisis as this comes to all of us and will soon be surmounted. If all of us had recourse to dagger or poison in such cases, there would soon be no men left in the world.

Search fearlessly for every sin, for out of sin comes joy.

I do not believe in pathos. Our elders show us long faces in order to hide their stupidity.

Wer mir den Glauben an die Menschen zurückgibt, gibt mir mein Leben zurück.

Virtue is not a bad garment, but it requires an imposing figure.

I only want to warn you that even the best can do one harm when one isn’t ripe enough in years to receive it properly.

Melchior. What good does that do? Moritz. What good does it have to do?——We are fit for nothing more, neither good nor evil.

If our esteemed colleague, Zungenschlag, does not find our room ventilated sufficiently, I should like to suggest that our esteemed colleague, Zungenschlag, have a ventilator set into his forehead.

To be frank with you, Melchior, I have almost the same feeling since I read your explanation.——It fell at my feet during the first vacation days. I was startled. I fastened the door and flew through the flaming lines as a frightened owl flies through a burning wood——I believe I read most of it with my eyes shut.

Ernest. Oh, I can't eat any more. Hans. Just this shining muscatelle! Ernest. My elasticity has its limit.

MORITZ: Melchior, do you agree that a human being's sense of shame is just a product of his education? MELCHIOR: It seems to me it must be deeply rooted in human nature. Imagine you had to undress completely in front of your best friend. You'd only do it if he did it at the same time.

Der vermummte Herr Warum prahlen Sie denn dann mit Erhabenheit?! – Sie wissen doch, daß das Humbug ist – saure Trauben! Warum lügen Sie geflissentlich, Sie – Hirngespinst! – – Wenn Ihnen eine so schätzenswerte Wohltat damit geschieht, so bleiben Sie meinetwegen. Aber hüten Sie sich vor Windbeuteleien, lieber Freund – und lassen Sie mir bitte Ihre Leichenhand aus dem Spiel.

Half happy. We wander among Mayflowers, among the lonely paths in the woods. We hover over gatherings of people, over the scene of accidents, gardens, festivals. We cower in chimneys of dwelling places and behind the bed curtains. Give me your hand. We don’t associate with each other, but we see and hear everything that is going on in the world. We know that everything is stupidity, everything that men do and contend for, and we laugh at it.

Before I struck a light one could see the grass and a streak on the horizon. Now it is dark. Now I shall never return home again.

Die Nacht nach diesem Gespräch konnte ich nicht schlafen. Als Blanka nach Hause kam, schloß ich die Augen und rührte mich nicht. Aber ich mußte ununterbrochen an Irma und Margareta denken.

Your explanation brought up a host of dim recollections, which affected me as a song of his childhood affects a man on his deathbed when hear from the lips of another.

The sublime humorist is the most miserable, most pitiable creature in creation.

I read your explanation.——It fell at my feet during the first vacation days. I was startled. I fastened the door and flew through the flaming lines as a frightened owl flies through a burning wood——I believe I read most of it with my eyes shut.

Ihr üppiges, weniges, rabenschwarzes Haar trug Simba tief über die Schläfen herab und im Nacken in einen dichten Knoten geknüpft.

Work is like Brussels lace: The essential is what surrounds the pattern: air, perforation, unjustified absence.

even the best can do one harm when one isn’t ripe enough in years to receive it properly.

Melchior, don't you also think that man's sense of shame is just a product of his education?

MELCHIOR- Je te dirai tout.-Je le tiens des livres, je le tiens d'illustrations, et aussi d'observations faites sur nature. (L'éveil du printemps)

MRS GABOR (to Mr. Gabor): You have to be a man to be so blinded by doctrine that you cannot see what is staring you in the face!

I do not hold my parents answerable. At the same time, the worst must fall upon them. They were old enough to know what they were doing. I was a weakling when I came into the world----or else I would have been wise enough to become another being. Why should I be forced to pay for the fact that the others were here already!