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Nina Kiriki Hoffman
(1955) American writer
Source: The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993), Chapter 8 (p. 72)
Anton Chekhov
(1860–1904) Russian dramatist, author and physician
Letter to Alexei Pleshcheev (October 4, 1888)
Letters
Source: Gardens of the Moon (1999), Chapter 20 (p. 555)
Pt. I, The Peace-Pipe, st. 13.
The Song of Hiawatha (1855)
Lis Wiehl
(1961) American legal scholar
Source: Heart of Ice A Triple Threat Novel with April Henry (Thomas Nelson), p. 118
William R. Alger
(1822–1905) American clergyman and poet
"Mussud's Praise of the Camel", p. 257.
Poetry of the Orient, 1893 edition
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India
1920s, The Doctrine Of The Sword (1920)
Context: I advocate training in arms for those who believe in the method of violence. I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honor than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonor.
But I believe that nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence, forgiveness is more manly than punishment, forgiveness adorns a soldier. But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is the power to punish, it is meaningless when it pretends to proceed from a helpless creature. A mouse hardly forgives cat when it allows itself to be torn to pieces by her. … I do not believe myself to be a helpless creature. Only I want to use India's and my strength for better purpose.
Let me not be misunderstood. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Justin Trudeau
(1971) 23rd Prime Minister of Canada; eldest son of Pierre Trudeau
Statement on Twitter https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/825438460265762816 affirming Canada's commitment to refugee resettlement in the wake of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13769 banning immigrants, refugees and travelers of primarily Muslim origin from entering the United States, January 28, 2017
Phyllis Chesler
(1940) Psychotherapist, college professor, and author
Women and Madness (2005), p. 346, and see Women and Madness (1972), p. 298 (similar text).
Women and Madness (1972, 2005)
Kim Il-sung
(1912–1994) President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Victory speech in Pyongyang (14 October 1945)
William Ewart Gladstone
(1809–1898) British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom
Speech in Edinburgh (25 November 1879), quoted in W. E. Gladstone, Midlothian Speeches 1879 (Leicester University Press, 1971), p. 46.
1870s
Mohamed ElBaradei
(1942) Egyptian law scholar and diplomat, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Nobel …
Nobel lecture (2005)
Context: Since the Chernobyl accident, we have worked all over the globe to raise nuclear safety performance. And since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, we have worked with even greater intensity on nuclear security. On both fronts, we have built an international network of legal norms and performance standards. But our most tangible impact has been on the ground. Hundreds of missions, in every part of the world, with international experts making sure nuclear activities are safe and secure.
I am very proud of the 2,300 hard working men and women that make up the IAEA staff — the colleagues with whom I share this honour. Some of them are here with me today. We come from over 90 countries. We bring many different perspectives to our work. Our diversity is our strength.
We are limited in our authority. We have a very modest budget. And we have no armies.
But armed with the strength of our convictions, we will continue to speak truth to power. And we will continue to carry out our mandate with independence and objectivity.
Jimmy Carter
(1924) American politician, 39th president of the United States (in office from 1977 to 1981)
Presidency (1977–1981), Inaugural Address (1977)
Context: The world itself is now dominated by a new spirit. Peoples more numerous and more politically aware are craving and now demanding their place in the sun – not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but for basic human rights.
The passion for freedom is on the rise. Tapping this new spirit, there can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world that is truly humane.
We are a strong nation, and we will maintain strength so sufficient that it need not be proven in combat – a quiet strength based not merely on the size of an arsenal, but on the nobility of ideas.
We will be ever vigilant and never vulnerable, and we will fight our wars against poverty, ignorance, and injustice – for those are the enemies against which our forces can be honorably marshaled.
We are a purely idealistic Nation, but let no one confuse our idealism with weakness.
Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. Our moral sense dictates a clearcut preference for these societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights. We do not seek to intimidate, but it is clear that a world which others can dominate with impunity would be inhospitable to decency and a threat to the well-being of all people.
