“Some writings could sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds.”

—  Elie Wiesel

A statement of 1968, as quoted in "How And Why I Write: An Interview with Elie Wiesel" by Heidi Anne Walker, in Journal of Education, Vol. 162 (1980), p. 57
Variants:
Some words are deeds.
Souls on Fire : Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters (1982)
Words can sometimes, in moments of grace, attain the quality of deeds.
As quoted in "Nobelists, Auschwitz, and Survival" by Robert McAfee Brown, in Christianity and Crisis, Vol. 48 (7 March 1988), p. 58

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Elie Wiesel photo
Elie Wiesel 155
writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and … 1928–2016

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