“Labour itself is but a sorrowful song,
The protest of the weak against the strong.”
The Sorrowful World.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
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Frederick William Faber20
British hymn writer and theologian 1814–1863Related quotes
Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914) British businessman, politician, and statesman
‘The Revolution of 1884’, The Fortnightly Review, No. CCXVII, New Series (1 January 1885), quoted in T. H. S. Escott (ed.), The Fortnightly Review, Vol. XXXVII, New Series (1 January – 1 June 1885), p. 9
1880s
“Of course the strong are strong and the weak weak.”
Kyuzo Mifune book The Canon of Judo
The Canon of Judo (1956, 1960)
“A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit.”
Phil Ochs (1940–1976) American protest singer and songwriter
Source: The Broadside Tapes 1 (made in the 1960s; published c. 1980), Liner notes
Han Fei (-279–-232 BC) Chinese philosopher
國無常強,無常弱。奉法者強則國強,奉法者弱則國弱。
Source: "On Having Standards", in Han Feizi: Basic Writings (2003)
“But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave.”
Milan Kundera book The Unbearable Lightness of Being
pg 71
Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), Part Two: Soul and Body
Alfred Austin (1835–1913) British writer and poet
Is Life Worth Living? http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/9/3/1/19316/19316.htm (1896)