“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?”

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About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German polymath and writer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Goethe is best known for his novel *The Sorrows of Young Werther*, which became a defining work of Sturm und Drang. His later masterpiece, *Faust*, remains a cornerstone of world literature, exploring human ambition and the search for meaning.

More from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (304 quotes) →
"When a nation which has long groaned under the intolerable yoke of a…" — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | Daily Quotes