"To gain a crown by fighting is great, to reject it divine"
- Friedrich Schiller
About this Quote
This quote by Friedrich Schiller speaks to the concept of power and the options we make in life. The concept of gaining a crown by battling recommends that one can achieve achievement through effort and devotion. However, Schiller also suggests that there is something even higher than achieving greatness through fighting - the concept of declining it. Turning down a crown indicates that a person has the strength and guts to turn away from power and instead choose a course of humbleness and selflessness. This quote talks to the concept that sometimes the greatest power is in the capability to turn away from power and select a course of humbleness and altruism. It recommends that there is something even greater than accomplishing greatness through battling - the concept of declining it. By turning down a crown, one has the ability to show their strength and guts, and reveal that they want to put others before themselves. This quote speaks with the concept that often the greatest power remains in the ability to turn away from power and pick a path of humility and selflessness.
"To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization"
"Having soon discovered to be great, I must appear so, and therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped myself in mystery, devoting my time to fasting and prayer"