“Nature—pitiless in a pitiless universe—is certainly not concerned with the survival of Americans or, for that matter, of any of the two billion people now inhabiting this earth. Hence, our destiny, with the aid of God, remains in our own hands.”

— J. William Fulbright

Remarks in the Senate, February 2, 1954, Congressional Record, vol. 100, p. 1106.

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J. William Fulbright 21

American politician 1905–1995

David Gemmell book Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

ibid
Drenai series, Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

“God on high
Looks graciously on him whom triumph's hour
Has made not pitiless.”

Aeschylus Agamemnon

Source: Oresteia (458 BC), Agamemnon, lines 951–952 (tr. E. D. A. Morshead)

“The vanity held by many of us puny humans tends to bolster a belief that we control our own destiny within the universe, or are even masters of our own climate control. Recent events such as the PDO shift remind us that the slow but powerful forces of nature remain in control.”

Anthony Watts (1958) American television meteorologist

A reminder to us flyspecks on an elephant's butt http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/05/07/a-reminder-to-us-flyspecks-on-an-elephants-butt/, wattsupwiththat.com, May 7, 2008.
2008

“The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.”

Richard Dawkins (1941) English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author

Source: River out of Eden (1995), pp. 131–132
Context: The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive; others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear; others are being slowly devoured from within by rasping parasites; thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst and disease. [... ] In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is. And we dance to its music.

“O God! Can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?”

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) American author, poet, editor and literary critic

"A Dream Within A Dream" (1849).

“Not only did life originate on earth very early in its history as a planet, but for the first two billion years, Earth was inhabited solely by bacteria.”

Lynn Margulis (1938–2011) American evolutionary biologist

Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Evolution from Our Microbial Ancestors (1986)

“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than 4 billion who inhabit the planet Earth. We human beings are still divided into nation states, but these states are rapidly becoming a single global civilization.

We cast this message into the cosmos. It is likely to survive a billion years into our future, when our civilization is profoundly altered and the surface of the Earth may be vastly changed. Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, some--perhaps many--may have inhabited planets and spacefaring civilizations. If one such civilization intercepts Voyager and can understand these recorded contents, here is our message:

This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe”

Jimmy Carter (1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)

“Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny…. To work out our identity in God.”

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) Priest and author

Source: New Seeds of Contemplation

“Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.”

Victor Hugo (1802–1885) French poet, novelist, and dramatist

Source: Quatrevingt-Treize

“We will not lose hope because we have the certainty that our destiny is not in the hands of a man or a superpower. Our destiny is in the hands of God, a Provident Father. It is in Him, and only in Him, that our salvation lies.”

Georges Abou Khazen (1947) Syrian bishop

Syria: Mgr. Khazen (Aleppo), “they are dividing the garments of our country” https://www.agensir.it/quotidiano/2018/2/12/syria-mgr-khazen-aleppo-they-are-dividing-the-garments-of-our-country/ (12 February 2018)

“Nature—pitiless in a pitiless universe—is certainly not concerned with the survival of Americans or, for that matter, of any of the two billion people now inhabiting this earth. Hence, our destiny, with the aid of God, remains in our own hands.”

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J. William Fulbright 21

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