Quote by: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When a nation which has long groaned under the intolerable yoke of a tyrant rises at last and throws off its chains, do you call that weakness? The man who, to rescue his house from the flames, finds his physical strength redoubled, so that he lifts burdens with ease which in the absence of excitement he could scarcely move; he who under the rage of an insult attacks and puts to flight half a score of his enemies,—are such persons to be called weak? My good friend, if resistance be strength, how can the highest degree of resistance be a weakness?


Author Bio


  • NameJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • DescriptionGerman writer, artist, and politician
  • BornAugust 28, 1749
  • DiedMarch 22, 1832
  • CountryFrankfurt
  • ProfessionPoet Lawyer; Theatre Manager; Botanist; Politician; Painter; Philosopher; Theologian; Jurist; Art Critic; Music Critic; Geheimrat; Librarian; Poet; Travel Writer; Physicist; Literary; Novelist; Playwright; Autobiographer; Diplomat; Statesman; Polymath; Aphorist; Diarist; Mineralogist; Zoologist; Art Theorist
  • WorksFaust; The Sorrows Of Young Werther; Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship; Elective Affinities; Prometheus; Theory Of Colours; Italian Journey; West-östlicher Diwan
  • AwardsMerit Order Of The Bavarian Crown; Officer Of The Legion Of Honour; Order Of St. Anna