Friedrich Schiller Quotes

Did you think the lion was sleeping because he didn't roar?

The joke loses everything when the joker laughs himself.

To save all we must risk all.

Every true genius is bound to be naive.

Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

Live with your century, but do not be its creature.

We shall be free, just as our fathers were.

I feel an army in my fist.

Be noble minded! Our own heart, and not other men's opinions of us, forms our true honor.

Dare to err and to dream. Deep meaning often lies in childish play.

It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons.

The voice of the majority is no proof of justice

If you cannot please everyone with your deeds and your art, please a few. To please many is bad.

Let no one despair, even though in the darkest night the last star of hope my disappear. —Friedrich Schiller

When the wine goes in, strange things come out.

Man only plays when he is in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays

The iron chain and the silken cord are both equally bonds.

Grace is the beauty of form under the influence of freedom.

Our age is enlightened... How is it, then, that we still remain barbarians?

Disappointments are to the soul what a thunderstorm is to the air.

There are three lessons I would write- Three words, as with a burning pen, In tracings of eternal light, Upon the heart of men. Have hope! though clouds environ round, And gladness hides her face in scorn, Put thou the shadow from thy brow, No night but hath its morn. Have love! not love alone for one, But man as man thy brother call, And scatter like the circling sun, Thy charities on all.

Only through Beauty's morning-gate, dost thou penetrate the land of knowledge.

On the mountains there is freedom! The world is perfect everywhere, save where man comes with his torment.

Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.

Man is never so authentically himself than when at play.

All powerful souls have kindred with each other.

The dignity of mankind is in your hands; protect it! It sinks with you! With you it will ascend.

Wenn ich bei dir bin, zerschmilzt meine Vernunft in einen Blick - in einen Traum von dir, wenn ich weg bin.

But how is the artist to protect himself against the corruption of the age which besets him on all sides?

While the gods remained more human, the men were more divine.

The concrete life of the individual is destroyed in order that the abstract idea of the whole may drag out its sorry existence.

The man of courage thinks not of himself. Help the oppressed and put thy trust in God.

There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.

We have failed to recognize our great asset: time. A conscientious use of it could make us into something quite amazing. - Friedrich Schiller

Mankind is made great or little by its own will.

Man, one may say, was never in such a completely animal condition; but he has, on the other hand, never escaped from it.

When the mechanic has to mend a watch he lets the wheels run out; but the living watchworks of the state have to be repaired while they act, and a wheel has to be exchanged for another during its revolutions.

When I hate I rob myself of something; but when I love I become richer by the object I love.

In the case of the creative mind, it seems to me, the intellect has withdrawn its watchers from the gates, and the ideas rush in pell-mell, and only then does it review and inspect the multitude. You worthy critics, or whatever you may call yourselves, are ashamed or afraid of the momentary and passing madness which is found in all real creators, the longer or shorter duration of which distinguishes the thinking artist from the dreamer. Hence your complaints of unfruitfulness, for you reject too soon and discriminate too severely.

The future comes slowly, the present flies and the past stands still forever.

Liebe Kennt der allein, der ohne Hoffnung liebt.

Ernst ist das Leben, heiter ist die Kunst

Man is only fully human when he plays!

(‘With stupidity, even the gods struggle in vain.’) Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)

You could be happy without me - but not become unhappy through me. This I felt alive in me - and thereupon I built my hopes. You could give yourself to another, but none could love you more purely or more completely than I did. To none could your happiness be holier, as it was to me, and always will be. My whole existence, everything that lives within me, everything, my most precious, I devote to you, and if I try to ennoble myself, that is done, in order to become ever worthier of you, to make you ever happier.

Everlastingly chained to a single little fragment of the Whole, man himself develops into nothing but a fragment; everlastingly in his ear the monotonous sound of the wheel that he turns, he never develops the harmony of his being, and instead of putting the stamp of humanity upon his own nature, he becomes nothing more than the imprint of his occupation or of his specialized knowledge.

Curious,' the Prince continued, after a deep silence, 'is it possible never to have known something, never to have missed it in its absence -- and a few moments later to live in and for that single experience alone? Can a single moment make a man so different from himself? It would be just as impossible for me to return to the joys and wishes of yesterday morning as it would for me to return to the games of childhood, now that I have seen that object, now that her image dwells here -- and I have this living, overpowering feeling within me: from now on you can love nothing other than her, and in this world nothing else will ever have any effect on you.

hidup yang tak dipertaruhkan, tak akan pernah dimenangkan

Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.

Der Mensch braucht wenig, und an Leben reich Ist die Natur.

Wage Du zu irren und zu träumen!

Let not thy heart cling to the things which for so short a time deck out thy life. Let him who has, learn to lose, and him who is happy, familiarise himself with what may give pain.

And from there, he wandered off into an argument with Friedrich Schiller's grandiose statement that human stupidity was what the gods fought in vain. Not so, in Toby's opinion, and no excuse for anybody, whether god or man. What the gods and all reasonable humans fought in vain wasn't stupidity at all. It was sheer, wanton, bloody indifference to anybody's interests but their own.

World history is the world's court

Death is not too high a price for this—This taste of heaven—

Misanthropy is a slow suicide.

Der Mensch spielt nur, wo er in voller Bedeutung des Wortes Mensch ist, und er ist nur da ganz Mensch, wo er spielt.

Nicht an die Güter hänge dein Herz, Die das Leben vergänglich zieren! Wer besitzt, der lerne verlieren, Wer im Glück ist, der lerne den Schmerz!

Brief is the sorrow — endless is the joy!

Gegen die Dummheit kämpfen selbst die Götter vergebens ("Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain")

Die Menschheit hat ihre Würde verloren, aber die Kunst hat sie gerettet und aufbewahrt in bedeutenden Steinen; die Wahrheit lebt in der Täuschung fort, und aus dem Nachbilde wird das Urbild wieder hergestellt werden.

What do I care for Sweden? I detest her, Worse than the pit of hell....

Wenn es immer nach deinem Kopf ginge, du kröchest dein Leben lang im Staub." - "Immer noch besser, als ich kröch um den Thron herum.

lern' erst die Tiefe des Abgrunds kennen, eh du hineinspringst!

Basely indeed they may behave to us, But they cannot debase us." Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller Act 1, Scene 2

هل أقوم بحشر جسدى داخل حشد محكم وأضغط على إرادتى فى جوهر القانون؟ إن ما كان مقدراً أن يحّلق عالياً كطيران النسر قد انتهى به الأمر إلى الزحف كالقوقع بفعل القانون. إن القانون لم تنشئ إنساناً عظيماً أبداً، بل إن الحرية هى التى تُنشئ العمالقة والأبطال.

It was civilization itself which inflicted this wound upon modern man. Once the increase of empirical knowledge, and more exact modes of thought, made sharper divisions between the sciences inevitable, and once the increasingly complex machinery of State necessitated a more rigorous separation of ranks and occupations, then the inner unity of human nature was severed too, and a disastrous conflict set its harmonious powers at variance. The intuitive and the speculative understanding now withdrew in hostility to take up positions in their respective fields, whose frontiers they now began to guard with jealous mistrust; and with this confining of our activity to a particular sphere we have given ourselves a master within, who not infrequently ends by suppressing the rest of our potentialities. While in one a riotous imagination ravages the hard-won fruits of the intellect, in another the spirit of abstraction stifles the fire at which the heart should have warmed itself and the imagination been kindled.

Let them storm on. In fury let them rage! Firm is this castle, and beneath its ruins I will be buried ere I yield to them. —Johanna, answer me! only be mine, And I will shield thee 'gainst a world in arms.

Любовта, в ръцете с прежда, и от лабиринт извежда.

und setzt ihr nicht das Leben ein, nie wird euch das Leben gewonnen sein

Freedom's sweet birthright they receive again, Under the mystic sway of holy might.

Der Ring macht Ehen, und Ringe sind's, die eine Kette machen. II, 2. (Elisabeth)

Празните думи не облекчават сърцата.

O friends, no more these sounds! Let us sing more cheerful songs, more full of joy!

It is a ring that makes a marriage and it is from rings that chains are made.

Oh how can we, scarce mastering our passions, expect that youth should keep itself in check?

Без отдих бродя час след час по тесен кръг чертан и пътя, в който бързам аз, ти би измерил с длан. Но пак най-дълъг на света е пътят в тоя кръг, а като вятъра летя, като стрела от лък.

in order to detain the fleeting apparition, he must enchain it in the fetters of rule, dissect its fair proportions into abstract notions, and preserve its living spirit in a fleshless skeleton of words.

Die rohen Kraftbrühen der Natur sind Ihro Gnaden zartem Makronenmagen noch zu hart. - Er muss sie erst in der höllischen Pestilenzküche der Bellatristen künstlich aufkochen lassen. Ins Feuer mit dem Quark.

life is earnest, art is gay

...our sex is called timid and weak; believe it no more! We tremble at a spider, but the black monster, corruption, we hug to our arms in sport!

As 'twas in the times of old 'tis now,   The sword is the sceptre, and all must bow.

Das Weib ist nicht schwach. ich will in meinem Beisein nichts von der Schwäche des [weiblichen] Geschlechts hören. Elisabeth, II, 3

Glaube mir, man kann das für Stärke des Geistes halten, was doch am Ende Verzweiflung ist [...].

El artista es hijo de sus tiempos, pero desdichado de él si, a la vez, es su alumno o incluso su favorito.

Orang yang tidak berani berbuat apa-apa tidak boleh mengharapkan apa-apa.

Dem Mimen flicht die Nachwelt keine Kränze.

Bei uns wird nur selten eine Mariage geschlossen, wo nicht wenigstens ein halb Dutzend der Gäste - oder der Aufwärter- das Paradies des Bräutigams geometrisch ermessen kann.

The greater part of humanity is too much harassed and fatigued by the struggle with want to rally itself for a new and sterner struggle.

Wer tränen ernten will, muss Liebe säen.

Mazarin shed tears over this great loss, which Conde, who had no feeling for anything but glory, disregarded. "A single night in Paris," said he, "gives birth to more men than this action has destroyed.

When the Creator banished from his sight Frail man to dark mortality's abode, And granted him a late return to light, Only by treading reason's arduous road,— When each immortal turned his face away, She, the compassionate, alone Took up her dwelling in that house of clay, With the deserted, banished one. With drooping wing she hovers here Around her darling, near the senses' land, And on his prison-walls so drear Elysium paints with fond deceptive hand. While soft humanity still lay at rest, Within her tender arms extended, No flame was stirred by bigots' murderous zest, No guiltless blood on high ascended. The heart that she in gentle fetters binds, Views duty's slavish escort scornfully; Her path of light, though fairer far it winds, Sinks in the sun-track of morality. Those who in her chaste service still remain, No grovelling thought can tempt, no fate affright; The spiritual life, so free from stain, Freedom's sweet birthright, they receive again, Under the mystic sway of holy might.

¡Quita! Abajo con este débil siglo de castrati que no sirve más que para rumiar las hazañas del pasado y para desollar a los héroes de la Antigüedad con ediciones comentadas y echarlos a perder con tragedias. La fuerza de su simiente se ha secado y ahora hay que ayudar a los hombres a multiplicarse con levadura de cerveza.

Man is not better treated by nature in his first start than her other works are; so long as he is unable to act for himself as an independent intelligence she acts for him. But the very fact that constitutes him a man is that he does not remain stationary, where nature has placed him, that he can pass with his reason, retracing the steps nature had made him anticipate, that he can convert the work of necessity into one of free solution, and elevate physical necessity into a moral law.

Ode to Joy Joy, beautiful spark of Divinity, Daughter of Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, Heavenly one, thy sanctuary! Thy magic binds again What custom strictly divided;* All people become brothers,* Where thy gentle wing abides. Whoever has succeeded in the great attempt, To be a friend's friend, Whoever has won a lovely woman, Add his to the jubilation! Yes, and also whoever has just one soul To call his own in this world! And he who never managed it should slink Weeping from this union! All creatures drink of joy At nature's breasts. All the Just, all the Evil Follow her trail of roses. Kisses she gave us and grapevines, A friend, proven in death. Salaciousness was given to the worm And the cherub stands before God. Gladly, as His suns fly through the heavens' grand plan Go on, brothers, your way, Joyful, like a hero to victory. Be embraced, Millions! This kiss to all the world! Brothers, above the starry canopy There must dwell a loving Father. Are you collapsing, millions? Do you sense the creator, world? Seek him above the starry canopy! Above stars must He dwell.

It seems a bad thing and detrimental to the creative work of the mind if Reason makes to close an examination of the ideas as they come pouring in -at the very gateway, as it were. Looked at in isolation, a thought may seem very trivial or very fantastic; but it may be made important by another thought that comes after it, and in conjunction with other thoughts that may seem equally absurd, it may serve to form a most effective link. Reason cannot form any opinion on all this unless it retains the thought long enough to look at it in connection with the others. On the other hand, where there is a creative mind, Reason -so it seems to me- relaxes its watch upon the gates, and the ideas rush in pell-mell, and only then does it look them through and examine them in a mass.

Every religion offers an interpretation of the world, a worldview, a counterpart to the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption. Translated into worldview terms, creation refers to a theory of origins: Where did we come from? What is ultimate reality? Fall refers to the problem of evil: What’s wrong with the world, the source of evil and suffering? Redemption asks, How can the problem be fixed? What must I do to become part of the solution? These are the three fundamental questions that every religion, worldview, or philosophy seeks to answer.16 The answers offered by Romanticism were adapted from neo-Platonism.17 In neo-Platonism, the counterpart to creation, or the ultimate source of all things, is a primordial spiritual essence or unity referred to as the One, the Absolute, the Infinite. Even thinking cannot be attributed to the One because thought implies a distinction between subject and object—between the thinker and the object of his thought. In fact, for the Romantics, thinking itself constituted the fall, the cause of all that is wrong with the world. Why? Because it introduced division into the original unity. More precisely, the fault lay in a particular kind of thinking—the Enlightenment reductionism that had produced the upper/lower story dichotomy in the first place. Coleridge wrote that “the rational instinct” posed “the original temptation, through which man fell.” The poet Friedrich Schiller blamed the “all-dividing Intellect” for modern society’s fragmentation, conflict, isolation, and alienation. And what would redeem us from this fall? The creative imagination. Art would restore the spiritual meaning and purpose that Enlightenment science had stripped from the world.

Sie wollen pflanzen für die Ewigkeit, Und säen Tod? Ein so erzwungnes Werk Wird seines Schöpfers Geist nicht überdauern. Dem Undank haben Sie gebaut - umsonst Den harten Kampf mit der Natur gerungen, Umsonst ein großes königliches Leben Zerstörenden Entwürfen hingeopfert. Der Mensch ist mehr, als Sie von ihm gehalten. (...) Gehn Sie Europens Königen voran. Ein Federzug von dieser Hand, und neu Erschaffen wird die Erde. Geben Sie Gedankenfreiheit. (...) Sehen Sie sich um In seiner herrlichen Natur! Auf Freiheit Ist sie gegründet - und wie reich ist sie Durch Freiheit! Er, der große Schöpfer, wirft In einen Tropfen Thau den Wurm und läßt Noch in den todten Räumen der Verwesung Die Willkür sich ergötzen - Ihre Schöpfung, Wie eng und arm! Das Rauschen eines Blattes Erschreckt den Herrn der Christenheit - Sie müssen Vor jeder Tugend zittern. Er - der Freiheit Entzückende Erscheinung nicht zu stören - Er läßt des Uebels grauenvolles Heer In seinem Weltall lieber toben - ihn, Den Künstler, wird man nicht gewahr, bescheiden Verhüllt er sich in ewige Gesetze; Die sieht der Freigeist, doch nicht ihn. Wozu Ein Gott? sagt er: die Welt ist sich genug. Und keines Christen Andacht hat ihn mehr, Als dieses Freigeists Lästerung, gepriesen. (...) Weihen Sie Dem Glück der Völker die Regentenkraft, Die - ach, so lang - des Thrones Größe nur Gewuchert hatte - stellen Sie der Menschheit Verlornen Adel wieder her. Der Bürger Sei wiederum, was er zuvor gewesen, Der Krone Zweck - ihn binde keine Pflicht, Als seiner Brüder gleich ehrwürd'ge Rechte. Wenn nun der Mensch, sich selbst zurückgegeben, Zu seines Werths Gefühl erwacht - der Freiheit Erhabne, stolze Tugenden gedeihen - Dann, Sire, wenn Sie zum glücklichsten der Welt Ihr eignes Königreich gemacht - dann ist Es Ihre Pflicht, die Welt zu unterwerfen. (Marquis von Posa; 3. Akt, 10. Szene)

History belongs, above all, to the active and powerful man, the man who fights one great battle, who needs the exemplary men, teachers, and comforters and cannot find them among his contemporary companions. Thus, history belongs to Schiller: for our age is so bad, said Goethe, that the poet no longer encounters any useful nature in the human life surrounding him. Looking back to the active men, Polybius calls political history an example of the right preparation for ruling a state and the most outstanding teacher, something which, through the memory of other people's accidents, advises us to bear with resolution the changes in our happiness. Anyone who has learned to recognize the sense of history in this way must get annoyed to see inquisitive travellers or painstaking micrologists climbing all over the pyramids of the great things of the past. There, in the place where he finds the stimulation to breath deeply and to make things better, he does not wish to come across an idler who strolls around, greedy for distraction or stimulation, as among the accumulated art treasures of a gallery. In order not to despair and feel disgust in the midst of weak and hopeless idlers, surrounded by apparently active, but really only agitated and fidgeting companions, the active man looks behind him and interrupts the path to his goal to take a momentary deep breath. His purpose is some happiness or other, perhaps not his own, often that of a people or of humanity collectively. He runs back away from resignation and uses history as a way of fighting resignation. For the most part, no reward beckons him on, other than fame, that is, becoming a candidate for an honoured place in the temple of history, where he himself can be, in his turn, a teacher, consoler, and advisor for those who come later.