Bertolt Brecht Quotes - Page 7

People who understand everything get no stories.

Eats first, morals after.

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

Art and science work in quite different ways: agreed. But, bad as it may sound, I have to admit that I cannot get along as an artist without the use of one or two sciences. ... In my view, the great and complicated things that go on in the world cannot be adequately recognized by people who do not use every possible aid to understanding.

The more innocent they are, the more they deserve to be shot.

Recently my fingers have developed a prejudice against comparatives. They all follow this pattern: a squirrel is smaller than a tree; a bird is more musical than a tree. Each of us is the strongest one in his or her own skin. Characteristics should take off their hats to one another, instead of spitting in each other's faces.

Fearful is the seductive power of goodness.

A man who sees another man on the street corner with only a stump for an arm will be so shocked the first time he'll give him sixpence. But the second time it'll only be a three penny bit. And if he sees him a third time, he'll have him cold-bloodedly handed over to the police.

The alienation effect in German epic theater is achieved not only through the actors, but also through music (chorus and song) andsets (transparencies, film strips, etc.). Its main purpose is to place the staged events in their historical context.

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

What rapture, oh, it is to know A good thing when you see it And having seen a good thing, oh, What rapture 'tis to flee it.

People are too durable, that's their main trouble. They can do too much to themselves, they last too long.

First the grub, then the morals.

Oh! Moon of Alabama We now must say good-bye We've lost our good old mama And must have whiskey Oh, you know why!

Spring is noticed, if at all By people sitting in railway trains.

There are some with brains and some without. It makes for a better division of labour.

On thinking about Hell, I gather My brother Shelley found it was a place Much like the city of London. I Who live in Los Angeles and not in London Find, on thinking about Hell, that it must be Still more like Los Angeles.

One cannot be arraigned for declaring a war, which every ruler has to do once in a while, but only for running a war badly.

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

When the wound/ No longer hurts/ The scar does.

But something's missing.

It was never decreed that a god mustn't pay hotel bills.

Sometimes I have visions of myself driving through hell, selling sulphur and brimstone, or through heaven peddling refreshments to the roaming souls. If me and the children I've got left could find a place where there's no shooting, I wouldn't mind a few years of peace and quiet.

First the pork chops, then morality

What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of a bank?