Bertolt Brecht Quotes

My entire childhood was steeped in poverty. For me, poverty, in a way, was the first inspiration of my life, a commitment to do something for the poor.

Poverty was the greatest motivating factor in my life.

Poverty makes you sad as well as wise.

I've experienced poverty and plenty, and there's a lesson to be learned when you're brought up in poverty.

I came from poverty and was part of those circumstances.

I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times.

We were poor, but we didn't know it. There were no government bureaus in those days presuming to determine where poorness begins and ends, but I don't remember ever being hungry.

I didn't have life that good coming up. I wasn't born with a lot of money. We weren't dirt poor, but we weren't rich. All I knew was struggle.

You cannot understand what it means to be poor until you have suffered it.

I was just a regular kid in poverty, struggling.

When poverty shows itself, even mischievous boys understand what it means.

Poverty is uncomfortable; but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim.

You grow up skinny in Canada; in working-class Montreal, you're definitely the underdog.

I come from a poor family.

Poverty is the schoolmaster of character.

From the age of 11, I was cleaning floors, washing dishes, making sandwiches and being a cashier. Survival was the name of the game. Life was so hard that I had to struggle to keep up my standards. Under these conditions, I didn't think about science too much.

There is no greater evil for men than the constraint of fortune.

I wasn't born with a golden spoon in my mouth. It was a really tough life.

What can he do who lacks the necessary work, if he comes to be unemployed? He has nothing but to let himself die of hunger. Then a few phrases of pity will thrown on his cadaver.

I grew up in a working-class neighborhood, so there was always a sense of struggle, but we had hope.

Every step of the way, life was hard. I was supposed to be a statistic.

I have lived poverty. I didn't choose it. No one would choose humiliation, pain, and rage.

There was a time when I had nothing. I lost everything.

I've lived in poverty.

A lot of people work extremely hard and through no fault of their own - bad luck, the wrong environment, unfortunate circumstances - struggle to survive.