“The most pious man can't stay in peace
If it doesn't please his evil neighbor.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Act IV, sc. iii
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
Quotes from workWilliam Tell
Friedrich SchillerOriginal title Wilhelm Tell (German, 1804)
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.
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
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.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Tell, Act I, sc. iii, as translated by Sir Thomas Martin
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“Who reflects too much will accomplish little.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Act III, sc. i
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“You saw his weakness, and he will never forgive you.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Act III, sc. i
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“The mountain cannot frighten one who was born on it.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Act III, sc. i
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
“A gloomy guest fits not a wedding feast.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
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.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
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.”
Friedrich Schiller William Tell
Act IV, sc. ii
Wilhelm Tell (1803)
