William Tell is a drama written by Friedrich Schiller in 1804. The story focuses on the legendary Swiss marksman William Tell as part of the greater Swiss struggle for independence from the Habsburg Empire in the early 14th century. Gioachino Rossini's four-act opera Guillaume Tell was written to a French adaptation of Schiller's play.
“The most pious man can't stay in peace
If it doesn't please his evil neighbor.”
Act IV, sc. iii
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
Wir wollen sein ein einzig Volk von Brüdern,
in keiner Not uns trennen und Gefahr.
Wir wollen frei sein, wie die Väter waren,
eher den Tod, als in der Knechtschaft leben.
Wir wollen trauen auf den höchsten Gott
und uns nicht fürchten vor der Macht der Menschen.
Act II, Sc. 2, as translated by C. T. Brooke
Variant translation: We shall be a single People of brethren,
Never to part in danger nor distress.
We shall be free, just as our fathers were,
And rather die than live in slavery.
We shall trust in the one highest God
And never be afraid of human power.
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“The strong man is strongest when alone.”
Tell, Act I, sc. iii, as translated by Sir Thomas Martin
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast.”
Act IV, sc. iii, as translated by Sir Thomas Martin
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“No cause has he to say his doom is harsh,
Who's made the master of his destiny.”
Gessler, Act III, sc. iii, as translated by Sir Thomas Martin
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“What's old collapses, times change,
And new life blossoms in the ruins.”
Act IV, sc. ii
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
