“All gates are shut against the unfortunate.”

— Edward Gibbon

Vol. III
The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire: Volume 1 (1776)

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Edward Gibbon 43

English historian and Member of Parliament 1737–1794

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“To me, the gate of paradise is shut.
I stand an orphan there, locked out;
however much I knock, it's all in vain.”

Walther von der Vogelweide (1170–1230) Middle High German lyric poet

Mir ist verspert der sælden tor
dâ stên ich als ein weise vor
mich hilfet niht swaz ich dar an geklopfe.
"Mir ist verspert der sælden tor", line 1; translation by Tim Chilcott. http://colecizj.easyvserver.com/pgvb3901.htm

“Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne,
And shut the gates of mercy on mankind.”

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“Against slavery all right thinkers revolt, and though torture be the price of resistance, torture must be dared: though the only road to freedom lie through the gates of death, those gates must be passed; for freedom is indispensable.”

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Source: The Professor (1857), Ch. XXV

“A thousand years a poor man watched
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It oped and shut. Ah! was he wise?”

William R. Alger (1822–1905) American clergyman and poet

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“Libraries really are the gates to the future. So it is unfortunate that, round the world, we observe local authorities seizing the opportunity to close libraries as an easy way to save money, without realising that they are stealing from the future to pay for today. They are closing the gates that should be open.”

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“The irrevocable Hand
That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut
The portals of our earthly destinies;
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Context: p>The irrevocable Hand
That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut
The portals of our earthly destinies;
We walk through blindfold, and the noiseless doors
Close after us, for ever.Pause, my soul,
On these strange words — for ever — whose large sound
Breaks flood-like, drowning all the petty noise
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O Thou that openest, and no man shuts;
That shut'st, and no man opens — Thee we wait!</p

“Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.”

Laozi book Tao Te Ching

Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 1, Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English (1972)
Context: The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
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this appears as darkness.
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The gate to all mystery.

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Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) French philosopher

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“For over five years this man has been chasing around Europe like a madman in search of something he could set on fire. Unfortunately he again and again finds hirelings who open the gates of their country to this international incendiary.”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

speaking about Winston Churchill at the Reichstag, 4 May 1941 http://humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/speeches/1941-05-04.html.
1940s

“All gates are shut against the unfortunate.”

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Edward Gibbon 43

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