--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The headlong stream is termed violent But…" description: "\"The headlong stream is termed violent But the river bed hemming it in is Termed violent by no one.\" — Bertolt Brecht" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bertolt-brecht-1065_bed_the-headlong-stream-is-termed-violent-bu_2864220.jpg" --- # The headlong stream is termed violent But the river bed… ![“The headlong stream is termed violent But the river bed hemming it in is Termed violent by no one.” quote by Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bertolt-brecht-1065_bed_the-headlong-stream-is-termed-violent-bu_2864220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bertolt-brecht-1065_bed_the-headlong-stream-is-termed-violent-bu_2864220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/bertolt-brecht-1065_bed_the-headlong-stream-is-termed-violent-bu_2864220.jpg) > “The headlong stream is termed violent But the river bed hemming it in is Termed violent by no one.” [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is defined by perception, not by the river itself. **In simple terms:** Violence is a label we assign. Key Takeaway Question labels, seek underlying causes. Themes perception violence language Mood critical analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theatre - political satire - education Key Concepts social construct power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What does labeling violence achieve? - How does language shape conflict? A Different Perspective Violence exists regardless of naming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) ## Related quotes > [The movement of the stream is distinct from the river bed, although it must adopt its winding course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-movement-of-the-stream-is-distinct-from-the-river-bed-although-it/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [“Hard times are like crossing a violent river on disappearing stones. You panic. You slip. You run. Somehow, you still make it across. 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As the river flows, it wonders what it would be like to be so still, to take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kekla-magoon/the-river-is-motion-turmoil-rage-as-the-river-flows-it-wonders-what/) [Kekla Magoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kekla-magoon/) > [I come from haunts of coot and hern, I make a sudden sally And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-come-from-haunts-of-coot-and-hern-i-make-a-sudden-sally-and-sparkle/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [We are all pilgrims on an elusive and endless road... Despite our attempts to build lives on stone foundations, our spirits continuously flow. Endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lawlor/we-are-all-pilgrims-on-an-elusive-and-endless-road-despite-our/) [Anthony Lawlor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lawlor/) > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [Unless the Stream of their Importation could be turned... they will soon so outnumber us, that all the advantages we have, will not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/unless-the-stream-of-their-importation-could-be-turned-they-will-soon/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The foundation of the Christian's peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy. It will remain when the body dies;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/the-foundation-of-the-christian-s-peace-is-everlasting-it-is-what-no/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More by Bertolt Brecht > [Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm. 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If that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/some-party-hack-decreed-that-the-people-had-lost-the-government-s/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-is-not-a-mirror-held-up-to-reality-but-a-hammer-with-which-to/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/people-remain-what-they-are-even-if-their-faces-fall-apart/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Go make yourself a plan And be a shining light. 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It makes for a better division of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/there-are-some-with-brains-and-some-without-it-makes-for-a-better/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“When the sharks the sharks devour Little fishes have their hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/when-the-sharks-the-sharks-devour-little-fishes-have-their-hour/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“In my poetry a rhyme Would seem to me almost insolent. Inside me contend Delight at the apple tree in blossom And horror at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/in-my-poetry-a-rhyme-would-seem-to-me-almost-insolent-inside-me/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“The law was made for one thing alone,for the exploitation of those who don't understand it, or are prevented by naked misery from obeying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/the-law-was-made-for-one-thing-alone-for-the-exploitation-of-those/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [From the start it has been the theatre's business to entertain people ... it needs no other passport than fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/from-the-start-it-has-been-the-theatre-s-business-to-entertain-people/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Whenever there are great virtues, it's a sure sign something's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/whenever-there-are-great-virtues-it-s-a-sure-sign-something-s-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [First feed the face, then talk right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/first-feed-the-face-then-talk-right-and-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) [Explore all 260 Bertolt Brecht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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