“And, therefore, hold your head high, Herr Stiefel!——Such a crisis as this comes to all of us and will soon be surmounted. If all of us had recourse to dagger or poison in such cases, there would soon be no men left in the world.”

“In my opinion it is unwise to judge a young man by his school record. We have too many examples of bad students becoming distinguished men, and, on the other hand, of brilliant students not being at all remarkable in life.”

“Search fearlessly for every sin, for out of sin comes joy.”

“Wendla: How did you come here?Melchior: I followed my thoughts.”

“I was a baby when I came into the world--otherwise I might have been smart enough to become a different person.”

“To be frank with you, Melchior, I have almost the same feeling since I read your explanation.——It fell at my feet during the first vacation days. I was startled. I fastened the door and flew through the flaming lines as a frightened owl flies through a burning wood——I believe I read most of it with my eyes shut.”

“Wer mir den Glauben an die Menschen zurückgibt, gibt mir mein Leben zurück.”