Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes!…
Galileo: No. Unhappy the land where heroes are needed.
– Bertolt Brecht, “Life of Galileo,” in Collected Plays: Five, trans. John Willet (Bloomsbury, 1995), scene 13.
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Mark Stoneman @drwalt I usually read these lines as an invitation to quit waiting for a great hero and step up. Recently, I've seen so much whining about the lack of a charismatic leader to counter Trump that this interpretation could also be framed as a reminder to not put all our faith in great leaders, maybe even view them with circumspection.
Scott Walters I think your interpretation is closer to Brecht's intent. Although in the same play, he expresses a preference for a healthy clam over a clam who has used it's pain to create a beautiful pearl. So there may also be a longing for peace instead of danger. Which, given that he grew up in Germany during both wars, would certainly be understandable!
Mark Stoneman @drwalt It's been a long time since I've used the play in a history class. Here's a 2008 post that explains what I did with it: Fostering Historical Thinking with Brecht’s Galileo. I might want to read more of him in German again. Another I liked for myself was his 1939 Mother Courage and Her Children, set in the Thirty Years War.