“Hope of attaining true freedom by purely political means has become an insane delusion.”

— Thomas Merton

from "The Pasternak Affair"
Disputed Questions (1960)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Hope of attaining true freedom by purely political means has become an insane delusion." by Thomas Merton?

Thomas Merton 92

Priest and author 1915–1968

Related quotes

“In true love, you attain freedom.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

“Man is able, and has the duty, to reach the furthest point on the road he has chosen. Only by means of hope can we attain what is beyond hope.”

Nikos Kazantzakis book Report to Greco

Source: Report to Greco

“Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance.”

Václav Havel (1936–2011) playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and 1st President of the Czech Republic

Letter to the downthrown Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček (August 1969), as translated in Disturbing the Peace (1986), Ch. 5 : The Politics of Hope, p. 115

“To give love is true freedom; To demand love is pure slavery.”

Chinmayananda Saraswati (1916–1993) Indian spiritual teacher

Quotations from Gurudev’s teachings, Chinmya Mission Chicago

“We hope and pray so that the political situation becomes clearer, to have better balance on behalf of the institutions on this delicate subject, in matters of faith and freedom of religious minorities.”

Murphy Pakiam (1938) Catholic archbishop

Source: The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur: "On the word Allah, a politicized case: the term will continue to be used in liturgies" http://www.fides.org/en/news/34489-ASIA_MALAYSIA_The_Archbishop_of_Kuala_Lumpur_On_the_word_Allah_a_politicized_case_the_term_will_continue_to_be_used_in_liturgies (14 October 2013)

“Our discussion has shown that while in war many different roads can lead to the goal, to the attainment of the political object, fighting is the only possible means.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

On War (1832), Book 1

“What else does one obtain by realization of God? Does one grow two horns? No, the mind becomes pure, and through a pure mind one attains knowledge and awakening.”

Sarada Devi (1853–1920) Hindu religious figure, spiritual consort of Ramakrishna

Women Saints of East and West

“There is often no greater obstacle to freedom than the assumption that it has already been attained.”

David Edwards (1962) british journalist, born 1962

Source: Burning All Illusions (1996), p. 1

“Free labor has the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope. The power of hope upon human exertion, and happiness, is wonderful.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

Fragmentary manuscript of a speech on free labor (17 September 1859?) http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln3/1:141?rgn=div1;view=fulltext; The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler (1953), vol. 3, pp. 463–464
1850s
Context: Free labor has the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope. The power of hope upon human exertion, and happiness, is wonderful. The slave-master himself has a conception of it; and hence the system of tasks among slaves. The slave whom you can not drive with the lash to break seventy-five pounds of hemp in a day, if you will task him to break a hundred, and promise him pay for all he does over, he will break you a hundred and fifty. You have substituted hope, for the rod. And yet perhaps it does not occur to you, that to the extent of your gain in the case, you have given up the slave system, and adopted the free system of labor.

“Some people maintain that what one believes becomes true, but the poor sick person who has hoped in vain would certainly not agree.”

Fausto Cercignani (1941) Italian scholar, essayist and poet

Examples of self-translation (c. 2004), Quotes - Zitate - Citations - Citazioni

“Hope of attaining true freedom by purely political means has become an insane delusion.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Thomas Merton 92

Related quotes

Related topics