Bertolt Brecht

Explore 8 quotes by Bertolt Brecht

Who built the Thebes of the seven gates?
In the books you will find the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?...
Where, the evening that the wall of China was finished
Did the masons go?

Bertolt Brecht

Questions from a Worker Who Reads

Read Questions From a Worker Who Reads at marxists.org

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Topic

Great man theory of history Seven wonders of the world Workers History

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

Questions from a Worker Who Reads

Medium

Poem

Genre

Political literature

Statement Type

Question

Language

German

Time

1936 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. "Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters [Questions of a Reading Worker]." Das Wort, 1936.

War is like love, it always finds a way.

Bertolt Brecht

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Topic

Inevitability of war War

Speaker

The Chaplain

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

Mother Courage and Her Children

Medium

Play

Language

German

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder [Mother Courage and Her Children]. 1941, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Current Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Mother Courage and Her Children, translated by Eric Bentley. Grove Press, 1991.

Don't be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life.

Bertolt Brecht

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Topic

Fear of death Death Living life to the fullest Life

Speaker

Pelagea Vlasova, the Mother

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

The Mother

Medium

Play

Statement Type

Advice

Language

German

Time

1931 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Die Mutter. Leben der Revolutionärin Pelagea Wlassowa aus Twer [The mother. Life of the Revolutionary Pelagea Vlassova from Tver]. 17 Jan. 1932, Komödienhaus am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin, Germany.

Current Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. The Mother. Grove Press, 1994.

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

Bertolt Brecht

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Topic

Incentives Character

Speaker

The First God

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

The Good Woman of Setzuan

Medium

Play

Language

German

Time

1943 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Der gute Mensch von Sezuan [The Good Person of Szechwan]. 1943, Zürich Schauspielhaus, Zürich, Switzerland.

Current Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. The Good Person Of Szechwan, edited by Tom Kuhn and Charlotte Ryland, translated by John Willett. Methuen Drama, 2012.

Reach for the book: It is a weapon.

Bertolt Brecht

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Topic

Power of literature Books

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

In Praise of Learning

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Advice

Language

German

Time

1935 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Die Mutter. Lebed der Revolutionärin Pelagea Wlassowa aus Twer. [The mother. Life of the Revolutionary Pelagea Vlassova from Tver.] 17 Jan. 1932, omödienhaus am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin, Germany.

Current Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. The Mother. Grove Press, 1994.

Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?

Bertolt Brecht

More information about this quote

Topic

Parliamentary democracy Citizen and state Democracy

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

The Solution

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Irony Joke

Language

German

Time

1956 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. "Die Lösung [The Solution]." Die Welt, 1959.

Truly, I am living in a time of darkness.

Bertolt Brecht

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Topic

Barbarism World War II

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

To Those Born Later

Medium

Poem

Language

German

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. "An die Nachgeborenen [To Those Born Later]." Die Neue Weltbühne, June 1939.

Food comes first, then morals.

Bertolt Brecht

More information about this quote

Topic

Moral relativism Moral principles Morality

Speaker

Macheath

Author

Bertolt Brecht

Source

The Threepenny Opera

Medium

Play

Language

German

Time

1928 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. Die Dreigroschenoper [The Threepenny Opera]. 31 Aug. 1928, Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin, Germany, act 2, sc. 6.

Current Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. The Threepenny Opera. Grove Press, 1994, act 2, sc. 6.