Source: Life of Galileo (1939)
Quotes from book
Life of Galileo
Bertolt Brecht
Original title
Leben des Galilei
(German, 1940)
Life of Galileo , also known as Galileo, is a play by the twentieth-century German dramatist Bertolt Brecht with incidental music by Hanns Eisler. The play was written in 1938 and received its first theatrical production at the Zurich Schauspielhaus, opening on 9 September 1943. This production was directed by Leonard Steckel, with set-design by Teo Otto. The cast included Steckel himself , Karl Paryla and Wolfgang Langhoff.
“Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.”
Scene 12, p. 115
Variant translations: Pity the country that needs heroes.
Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes
Source: Andrea: Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero.
Galileo: No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero. [Unglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat. ]
“Science has only one commandment: contribution.”
Andrea, in Scene 13, p. 122
As translated by Howard Brenton (1980)
Life of Galileo (1939)
Variant: Science knows only one commandment — contribute to science.
“The world of knowledge takes a crazy turn
When teachers themselves are taught to learn.”
Scene 6
Life of Galileo (1939)
