Humanity and Solidarity

Man loves company—even if it is only that of a small burning candle.

I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.

The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.

One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him.

The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition.

It is good enough to talk of God while we are sitting here after a nice breakfast and looking forward to a nicer luncheon, but how am I to talk of God to the millions who have to go without two meals a day? To them God can only appear as bread and butter.

It is not the business of science to inherit the earth, but to inherit the moral imagination; because without that, man and beliefs and science will perish together.

High sentiments always win in the end. The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.

Nothing in the world is so rare as a person one can always put up with.

Generosity always wins favor, particularly when accompanied by modesty.

One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.

If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.

The work of an unknown good man is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground greener.

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?

He best can pity who has felt the woe.

Two important things are to have a genuine interest in people and to be kind to them. Kindness, I’ve discovered, is everything in life.

When we become more fully aware that our success is due in large measure to the loyalty, helpfulness, and encouragement we have received from others, our desire grows to pass on similar gifts. Gratitude spurs us on to prove ourselves worthy of what others have done for us. The spirit of gratitude is a powerful energizer. Wilfred A. Peterson

There is, in my view, the birth of society that each of us, far from being sufficient to itself, on the contrary need a large number of people

It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good but to be willing to descend again to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not. And this they must do, even with the prospect of death.

Is there anything worse for a state than to be split and disunited? or better than cohesion and unity?

Certainly we shall have to look to ourselves, and try to find someone who will help in some way or other to improve us.

Everybody can be great . . . because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

In all my work what I try to say is that as human beings we are more alike than we are unalike.