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This article is from the Isaac Asimov FAQ, by Edward J. Seiler ejseiler@earthlink.net and John H. Jenkins jenkins@mac.com with numerous contributions by others.

5.3 What is the source of the title of the novel The Gods Themselves ?

The title is obtained from the quote "Against stupidity, the gods
themselves contend in vain" , which originally appeared in German ("Mit
der Dummheit kaempfen die Goetter selbst vergebens") in Friedrich von
Schiller's play Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans, or Joan of
Arc), Act III, Scene 6. Bartlett's Familiar Quotations translates the
quote as "Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain."
The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations gives the translation "With
stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain."

 

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