Famous Quotes by Franz Grillparzer
- To enlist the support of the people and of parliament, you only have to propose a profitable... More
- Human life, old and young, takes place between hope and remembrance. The young man sees all the... More
- What raises great poetry above all else—it is the entire person and also the entire world. More
- At certain times, men regard poetry merely as a bright flame, but to women it was, and always... More
- In early times, before the floods swept across the world, there was life, albeit odd, as one can... More
- I understand the phrase “Honor the Women” all too well: the poet has probably a wife of his... More
- When the theater gates open, a mob pours inside, and it is the poet’s task to turn it into an... More
- Much as I honor the wisdom of the princess—there is something more dashing about a man. More
- Man lives two lives, woe, were it otherwise! One is seized by death, the other one, his honor,... More
- No one will stop to help you when you are in need, but everyone forces opinions upon you that you... More
- The ramparts of Vienna are crumbling into the sand; no one wants to live so confined, however,... More
- In the arts, foolhardiness is always harmful; even worse, however, is clumsiness. More
- Praised be the good willing women who understand and take part in the fun—the body is an... More
- Poetry, it is often said and loudly so, is life’s true mirror. But a monkey looking into a work... More
- Although your knowledge is weak and small, you need not be silent: Since you cannot be judges be... More
- Many said selfishness was the flaw of our modern age; but then self-conceit emerged from a corner... More
- Prose and poetry are as different as food and drink. More
- The real genres: good and bad. More
- The likeness of the world? A shadow! And world’s glory? A dream! More
- The manifestation of poetry in external life is formal perfection. True sentiment grows within,... More
- Man will return to his origins. Goethe has finally become as squiggly as the city of his fathers. More
- They are not sleeping, but even if they were fast asleep, I’d respect their dreams more than... More
- Finally and long overdue, your people, oppressed and disgraced by hatred and maliciousness, have... More
- In the long run, only woman remains true to mankind’s foremost mission. Whatever she achieves,... More
- Distinctly different as a child, as an adolescent, in his prime and in his old age, man considers... More
- Since love is folly, a foolish woman is more dangerous than a wise one. More
- A valiant man, Sire, fears no enemy, but the righteous anger of noble women weighs upon him as a... More
- Like a prophet, you are possibly teaching us about the workings of the divine mind, but in the... More
- Our age believed herself pregnant with auspicious progeny, but when her hour came, it turned out... More
- What I like best about your system? It is as incomprehensible as the world. More
- You ardently strive for freedom, and I do wish you were free—but, rather than for your sake, so... More
- Once you have looked at the land from atop the Kahlenberg, you will understand what I write and... More
- Is it true that one travels in order to know mankind? It is easier to get to know other people at... More
- Art is eternally young, but the poet ages. If only he remained as young as art! If only it aged... More
- A word, a man; a glance, a woman! More
- Moons and years pass by and are gone forever, but a beautiful moment shimmers through life a ray... More
- You can make the best of it and be content, or you can complain, it makes no difference. What... More
- Vulgarity cannot exist in the absence of loftier values. Once it has affected the latter,... More
- It is fair to despise a cowardly man, but the female sex is strongest when it’s weak. More
- No spoon has yet destroyed a mouth, but the knife of war cuts portions that are hard to swallow.... More
- Do old people always live in the past? What yesterday was firm and true, may not be so today. More
- He will place a tax on the air you breathe and on the bread you eat; he will give you a... More
- My word—a rock. More
- I notice well that one stray step from the habitual path leads irresistibly into a new direction.... More
- As long as they desire the same object, they are of one mind, but having to achieve the same... More
- I am a woman, and even if I could proceed with harshness and rigidity, it would disgust me... More
- I cannot be exacting because I respect myself. More
- I look around me and nowhere do I see a stamp of disapproval with which nature marked a woman’s... More
- Before passing different laws for different people, I’d relinquish myself unto you as your slave. More
- He is like all the rest: a slave to profit, a master only to his bent for negotiating the best deal. More
- I love the pride whose measure is its own eminence and not the insignificance of someone else. More
- Right and proof are two crutches for everything bent and crooked that limps along. More
- It is not a matter of desire, but of coercion and duty. More
- Thank you, my rescuer, if one can speak of rescuing where there is little danger. More
- There shall be no slave in your home, male or female: Least of all the mother of your son. More
- When mundane, lowly activities are at stake, too much insight is detrimental—far-sightedness... More
- Of all the words mentioned in language, there is not one that I hate more than the word... More
- Chance arrives unannounced. It emerges, and when it leaves, we are lucky if the changes it has... More
- A book is quite a beautiful thing, even more so learning. Together, however, all they amount to... More
- Do you think that it is possible to have a mere taste of commonness? Either one hates it or makes... More
- Grief, first take on shape! what is shapeless causes fear and torment but when the enemy... More
- Pity, but never love bestows kind words upon the slave. More
- The courts used to be, fair and square, the avengers of secular crimes; but nowadays they demand... More
- There is one privilege we’ll never lose; currently it’s called nationality. It means that... More
- “Mankind is getting smarter every day.” Actually, it only seems so. “At least we are making... More
- North and West have always vied for power and territory, but their recent competition as to which... More
- A flutist who is moved to tears by his own performance will soon make the listeners laugh because... More
- Recently, the Germans have developed a tendency to prefer the so-called first (youthful) style of... More
- Which people desire to lose what they possess? A sick man his fever, a tormented husband his... More
- Perhaps the most embarrassing experience is being caught at a lie by a simpleton who sneers at... More
- Reason and the ability to use it are two separate skills. More
- Piety is the fermentation of the forming mind and the putrefaction of the disintegrating one. More
- The plot! The plot! What kind of plot could a poet possibly provide that is not surpassed by the... More
- Because a person is born the subject of a given state, you deny the sovereignty of the people?... More
- Why must ancients, and provided the same talent, be better than modern authors?
Free to... More
- The sun of a prince’s good graces resembles that in the skies in that it shines most kindly... More
- The verdict on Prince Metternich will soon be out: An excellent diplomat and a bad politician. More
- Morality, a muzzle for the will; logic, a climbing iron for the mind. More
- Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness. More
- If someone were to think that trees are made to support the sky, they would all seem too short. More
- Even with limited intelligence, knowing oneself is not as difficult as some say, but to act... More
- In Germany, a certain artistic sense is fairly common, but the artist’s sense is foreign there. More
- This is too much: I am a human being! Only an angel can forget such a blow, and only a devil can... More
- The Germans believe that, no matter where, they can get by on knowledge alone. Art, however,... More
- In order to succeed in a profession, a person not only needs to have its good, but also its bad... More
- The state has no religion for the simple reason that it has each and everyone. More
- Trying to conceal a crime is like burying a seed in the ground. More
- If only it were God’s will that printed and written materials have as much influence on the... More
- Critics are reprimanded when they get sarcastic. How absurd! Is the torch of criticism supposed... More
- A wise man can and should stand above his times, not so the poet, but he should be their apex. More
- It’s the misfortune of German authors that not a single one of them dares to expose his true... More
- What is the use of aesthetics if they can neither teach how to produce beauty nor how to... More
- Captivating the spirit of the age is a matter of great talent; being swept away by it... More
- The spirit of poetry combines the profundity of the philosopher and the child’s delight in... More
- Turning popular opinion upside down does not make an original. More
- A love that dies has never lived. More
- Beauty satisfies the senses completely and at the same time uplifts the soul. That which... More
- Why does the past look so enticing to us? For the same reason why from a distance a meadow with... More
- His principles are like the bristles of a domesticated pig, they don’t pierce through the pork. More
- The way in which modern German poetry follows theories reminds me of pupils who, scolded by their... More
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