Where was God in all this? Was this another test, one more? Or a punishment? And if so, for what sins? What crimes were being punished? Was there a misdeed that deserved so many mass graves? Would it ever again be possible to speak of justice, of truth, of divine charity, after the murder of one million Jewish children?
Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) Romanian-American novelist, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate.
A Jew Today, “To Be a Jew” (1978)
On the Holocaust.
Home is where the heart is.
Pliny the Younger (c. 61-c. 113) Roman politician, writer [Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus]
(Attributed)
I myself believe that the evidence for God lies primarily in inner personal experiences.
William James (1842-1910) American psychologist and philosopher
Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking, Lecture 3 “Some Metaphysical Problems Pragmatically Considered” (1907)
Full text.
The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Now I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves and not for me.A. E. Housman (1859-1936) English scholar and poet [Alfred Edward Housman]
Last Poems, No. 12, l. 1-4 (1922)
Full text.
Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ‘the rat race’ is not yet final.
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) American journalist, writer
Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979)
If you turn your back on these people, you yourself are an animal. You may be a well-dressed animal, but you are nevertheless an animal.
Ed Koch (1924-2013) American lawyer, politician, political commentator
State of the City Address (16 Mar 1987)
On the AIDS epidemic and New York City's response.
The hope of the world lies in what one demands, not of others, but of oneself.
James Baldwin (1924-1987) American novelist, playwright, activist
“Malcolm and Martin,” Esquire (Apr 1972)
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
1 Timothy 6:9-10 [KJV (1611)]
(Source)
Alternate translations:
People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and destruction. "The love of money is the root of all evils" and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds.
[Jerusalem (1966)]
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.
[GNT (1976)]
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
[NRSV (1989)]
That loss is common would not make
My own less bitter, rather more:
Too common! Never morning wore
To evening, but some heart did break.Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) English poet
“In Memoriam A. H. H.” [Arthur Henry Hallam], Part 6, st. 1-2 (1849)
Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.
Pericles (c. 495-429 BC) Greek statesman
In Plutarch, Life of Pericles
Alt. trans.: "Be ruled by time, the wisest counsellor of all."
Do not worry about what others are doing. Each of us should turn the searchlight inward and purify his or her own heart as much as possible.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian philosopher and nationalist [Mahatma Gandhi]
Speech, All-India Radio (1948-01-16)
(Source)
Two weeks before his death. In Louis Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, Part 3, ch. 9 "The Last Fast" (1957).
I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. I put them on and went out of the room.
Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) American novelist
Farewell, My Lovely, chapter 34 (1940)
All this was inspired by the principle — which is quite true in itself — that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.
Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) German leader
Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Vol. 1, ch. 10 (1925)
There are only two mistakes one can make on the road to truth: not going all the way and not starting.
Buddha (c.563-483 BC) Indian mystic, philosopher [b. Siddharta Gautama]
(Attributed)
Honor and shame from no Condition rise;
Act well your part: there all the honor lies.Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
“An Essay on Man,” 4.193 (1734)
We appreciate what we share, we do not appreciate what we receive. Friendship, affection is not acquired by giving presents. Friendship, affection comes about by two people sharing a significant moment, by having an experience in common.
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) Polish-American rabbi, theologian, philosopher
The Insecurity of Freedom, 5.3 (1967)
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a deal longer.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
The Professor at the Breakfast Table (1859)
“I am tormented by temptations.”
“What kind? There is a cure for temptation.”
“What?”
“Yielding to it.”[Je suis tourmenté par de mauvaises idées.
En quel genre? Ça se guérit, les idées.
Comment?
En y succombant.]Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) French novelist, playwright
Le Père Goriot, Part 2 (1835) [tr. Marriage]
He who hesitates is last.
Mae West (1892-1980) American film actress
(Attributed)
When hope is taken away from the people, moral degeneration follows swiftly after. Young colored men and women today are giving up hope of justice or security In their own country.
Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American writer
Letter to the Editor, The New York Times (1941-11-22)
(Source)
Responding to a Times editorial (1941-11-12) regarding rising crime in Harlem, which she blamed on systemic racism in the US.
An honest Man’s the noblest work of God.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet
“An Essay on Man,” 4.248 (1734)
Some people did not like this ceremonious style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
The Second World War, Volume 3: The Grand Alliance, ch. 32 “Pearl Harbor” (1950)
On his closing his 8 Dec 1941 letter to the Japanese ambassador, informing him of the state of war between the UK and Japan, with "I have the honour to be, with high consideration, Sir, Your obedient servant."
CHORUS: It is restful, tragedy, because one knows that there is no more lousy hope left. You know you’re caught, caught at last like a rat with all the world on its back. And the only thing left to do is shout — not moan, or complain, but yell out at the top of your voice whatever it was you had to say. What you’ve never said before. What perhaps you don’t even know till now.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
Antigone (1942)
Human beings have a strong tendency toward rationality and decency. (If they had not, they would not desire to legitimize their prejudices and their passions.)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
“Writers and Readers,” The Olive Tree and Other Essays (1936)
Honour and profit lie not in one sacke.
George Herbert (1593-1633) Welsh priest, orator, poet.
Jacula Prudentum, or Outlandish Proverbs, Sentences, &c. (compiler), # 232 (1640 ed.)
(Source)
“If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” I am rarely satisfied with my lines, but I own that I have a father’s tenderness for that one.
Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Letter to M. Saurin (10 Nov 1770)
We for a certainty are not the first
Have sat in taverns while the tempest hurled
Their hopeful plans to emptiness, and cursed
Whatever brute and blackguard made the world.A. E. Housman (1859-1936) English scholar and poet [Alfred Edward Housman]
Last Poems, No. 9, st. 3 (1922)
Full text.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) American journalist, writer
“Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl,” Rolling Stone, #155 (28 Feb 1974)
He stamped with his name a tendency, a whole cluster of tendencies in American life. The name survives. To many Americans, whatever is illiberal, anti-intellectual, repressive, reactionary, totalitarian or merely swinish will hereafter be McCarthyism. The word is imprecise, but it conveys a meaning and a powerful image.
Richard H. Rovere (1915-1979) American journalist
“The Frivolous Demagogue,” Esquire (Jun 1958)
On Senator Joseph R McCarthy.
Greed for ownership has taken such a hold of us that we seem to be possessed by wealth rather than to possess it.
Pliny the Younger (c. 61-c. 113) Roman politician, writer [Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus]
Letters, 9.30 [tr. Radice (1963)]
You might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far backward.
James Thurber (1894-1961) American cartoonist and writer
“The Bear Who Let It Alone”, The New Yorker (29 April 1939)
For friend and foe were shadows in the mist,
And friend slew friend not knowing whom he slew;
And some had visions out of golden youth,
And some beheld the faces of old ghosts
Look in upon the battle; and in the mist
Was many a noble deed, many a base,
And chance and craft and strength in single fights,
And ever and anon with host to host
Shocks, and the splintering spear, the hard mail hewn,
Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands, the crash
Of battleaxes on shattered helms, and shrieks
After the Christ, of those who falling down
Looked up for heaven, and only saw the mist;
And shouts of heathen and the traitor knights,
Oaths, insults, filth, and monstrous blasphemies,
Sweat, writhings, anguish, labouring of the lungs
In that close mist, and cryings for the light,
Moans of the dying, and voices of the dead.Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) English poet
Idylls of the King, “The Passing of Arthur” (1859-1885)
Full text.
In crises boldness is the safest course. Hesitation encourages the adversary to persevere, maybe even to raise the ante.
Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) German-American diplomat
White House Years, ch. 9 (1979)
No condition so low but may have Hopes; none so high but may have Fears.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs, #3555 (1732)
(Source)
Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues; hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Christian church father, philosopher, saint [b. Aurelius Augustinus]
(Attributed)
I’ve seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the Fair Deal, and says he really doesn’t believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don’t want a phony Democrat. If it’s a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don’t want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign.
Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
Address, Americans for Democratic Action Convention (17 May 1952)
Full text.
It is a supreme test of a system of government whether its machinery is adequate for repressing the selfish undertakings of cliques formed on special interests and saving the public from raids of plunderers.
William Graham Sumner (1840-1910) American minister, sociologist, anthropologist.
Folkways, 167 (1907)
The hand of the people has given the mortal blow to a conspiracy, which, in other countries would have called for an appeal to armies; and has proved that government to be the strongest of which every man feels himself a part.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) American political philosopher, polymath, statesman, US President (1801-09)
Letter to H. D. Tiffin (2 Feb 1807)
(Source)
On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it is politic?” Vanity asks the question, “Is it is popular?” But Conscience asks the question, “Is it right?” There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher
Speech, Santa Rita, Calif., (14 Jan 1968)
Recording (at 10:22). King reused speech elements frequently. The same passage can be found in "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution", sermon at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC (31 Mar 1968).
When the issue is one of Truth and Justice, there can be no differentiating between small problems and great ones. For the general viewpoints on human behaviour are indivisible. People who fail to regard the truth seriously in small matters, cannot be trusted in matters that are great.
[Wenn es sich um Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit handelt, gibt es nicht die Unterscheidung zwischen kleinen und grossen Problemen. Denn die allgemeinen Gesichtspunkte, die das Handeln der Menschen betreffen, sind unteilbar. Wer es in kleinen Dingen mit der Wahrheit nicht ernst nimmt, dem kann man auch in grossen Dingen nicht vertrauen …]
Because the Bill implies either that the Civil Magistrate is a competent Judge of Religious Truth; or that he may employ Religion as an engine of Civil policy. The first is an arrogant pretension falsified by the contradictory opinions of Rulers in all ages, and throughout the world: the second an unhallowed perversion of the means of salvation.
James Madison (1751-1836) American statesman, political theorist, US President (1809-17)
“A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments,” letter to the Virginia Assembly (20 Jun 1785)
On a proposed law to have the state financially support "Teachers of the Christian Religion."
Full text.
Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.
George Washington (1732-1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789-1797)
(Attributed)
As for the Republicans — how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial ideals exalting sheer acquisitiveness and condoning artificial hardship for the non-materially-shrewd, dwell smugly and sentimentally in a distorted dream-cosmos of outmoded phrases and principles and attitudes based on the bygone agricultural-handicraft world, and revel in (consciously or unconsciously) mendacious assumptions (such as the notion that real liberty is synonymous with the single detail of unrestricted economic license or that a rational planning of resource-distribution would contravene some vague and mystical “American heritage” — economic oversight, price-fixing, “government in business”, etc. recur often in American colonial history) utterly contrary to fact and without the slightest foundation in human experience? Intellectually, the Republican idea deserves the tolerance and respect one gives to the dead.
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) American fabulist [Howard Phillips Lovecraft]
Letter to C. L. Moore (Aug 1936)
The great principle of morality, “To do as one would be done to,” is more commended than practiced.
John Locke (1632-1704) English philosopher
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 2.2.7 (1690) [ed. Fraser (1894)]
See the Bible, Matthew 7:12.
By noon it was clear that the Socialists would have a majority. At luncheon my wife said to me, ‘It may well be a blessing in disguise.’ I replied, ‘At the moment it seems quite effectively disguised.’
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British statesman and author
The Second World War, Volume 6: Triumph and Tragedy, ch. 40 “The End of My Account” (1954)
On the landslide electoral defeat that turned him out of office (26 Jul 1945).
ARCHBISHOP: With God, what is terrible is that one never knows whether it’s not just a trick of the devil.
Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) French dramatist
The Lark [L’Alouette] (1952)
It’s all right to hesitate if you then go ahead!
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
The Good Person of Szechwan [Der gute Mensch von Sezuan], Prologue (1941) [tr. Bentley (1947)]
Because the establishment proposed by the Bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian Religion. To say that it is, is a contradiction to the Christian Religion itself, for every page of it disavows a dependence on the powers of this world: it is a contradiction to fact; for it is known that this Religion both existed and flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of every opposition from them, and not only during the period of miraculous aid, but long after it had been left to its own evidence and the ordinary care of Providence. Nay, it is a contradiction in terms; for a Religion not invented by human policy, must have pre-existed and been supported, before it was established by human policy.
James Madison (1751-1836) American statesman, political theorist, US President (1809-17)
“A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments,” letter to the Virginia Assembly (20 Jun 1785)
On a proposed law to have the state financially support "Teachers of the Christian Religion." Full text.
We are here to help God, to do His work, to remedy His old errors, to strive towards Godhead ourselves.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
Letter to Leo Tolstoy (1909)
Nature, not content with denying to Mr — the faculty of thought, has endowed him with the faculty of writing.
A. E. Housman (1859-1936) English scholar and poet [Alfred Edward Housman]
In L. Houseman, A. E. H. (1937)
From a list of insults drafted by A. E. Housman, posthumously published. The name was left blank in the original, with the intent to fill it in when used later on a target.
The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now — with somebody — and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives.
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) American journalist, writer
“Kingdom of Fear” (12 Sep 2001)
The ocean has only one taste, the taste of salt.
Truth has only one taste, the taste of liberation.Buddha (c.563-483 BC) Indian mystic, philosopher [b. Siddharta Gautama]
The Dhammapada [tr. P. Lal (1967)]
Happy it is when the interest which the government has in the preservation of its own power, coincides with a proper distribution of the public burdens, and tends to guard the least wealthy part of the community from oppression!
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) American statesman, author
The Federalist #36 (8 Jan 1788)
As a writer I have never been able to take myself with that enormous earnestness which is one of the trying characteristics of the craft.
Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) American novelist
Trouble Is My Business, Introduction (1950)
I believe that Providence would never have allowed us to see the victory of the Movement if it had the intention after all to destroy us at the end.
Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) German leader
Speech, Munich (8 Nov 1933)