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1. "If we do not learn to regard a war, and the separate campaigns of which it is composed, as a chain of linked engagements each leading to the next, but instead succumb to the idea that the capture of certain geographical points or the seizure of undefended provinces are of value in themselves, we are liable to regard them as windfall profits. In so doing, and in ignoring the fact that they are links in a continuous chain of events, we also ignore the possibility that their possession may later lead to definite disadvantages." ~ Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), 'On War,' Book 3 (pub. 1833)
"A conqueror is always a lover of peace (as Bonaparte always asserted of himself); he would like to make his entry into our state unopposed; in order to prevent this, we must choose war, and therefore also make preparations, that is in other words, it is just the weak, or that side which must defend itself, which should be always armed in order not to be taken by surprise; so it is willed by the art of war." ~ Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), 'On War,' Book 6, chapter 5 (pub. 1833)
"In view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved." ~ John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911), lone dissent in 'Plessy v. Ferguson' 163 U.S. 537, 559 (1896)
"When a man is drowning, it may be better for him to try to swim than to thrash around waiting for divine intervention." ~ William Sloane Coffin , Jr., (1924-2006)
"In our time all it takes for evil to flourish is for a few good men to be a little wrong and have a great deal of power, and for the vast majority of their fellow citizens to remain indifferent." ~ William Sloane Coffin , Jr., (1924-2006), Yale Alumni magazine (1967)
"Of God's love we can say two things: it is poured out universally for everyone from the Pope to the loneliest wino on the planet; and secondly, God's love doesn't seek value, it creates value. It is not because we have value that we are loved, but because we are loved that we have value. Our value is a gift, not an achievement." ~ William Sloane Coffin, Jr., (1924-2006), 'Credo' (2003)
2. "I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." ~ Martha Washington (1731-1802)
"The principle of liberty and equality, if coupled with mere selfishness, will make men only devils, each trying to be independent that he may fight only for his own interest. And here is the need of religion and its power, to bring in the principle of benevolence and love to men." ~ John Randolph (1773-1833)
"A well proportioned mind is one which shows no particular bias; one of which we may safely say that it will never cause its owner to be confined as a madman, tortured as a heretic, or crucified as a blasphemer. Also, on the other hand, that it will never cause him to be applauded as a prophet, revered as a priest, or exalted as a king. Its usual blessings are happiness and mediocrity." ~ Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), 'The Return of the Native, (1878)
"If a state should pass laws forbidding its citizens to become wise and holy, it would be made a byword for all time. But this, in effect, is what our commercial, social, and political systems do. They compel the sacrifice of mental and moral power to money and dissipation." ~ John Lancaster Spalding (1840-1916)
"Liberty is more precious than money or office; and we should be vigilant lest we purchase wealth or place at the price of inner freedom." ~ John Lancaster Spalding (1840-1916)
"It is easier to accept the message of the stars than the message of the salt desert. The stars speak of man's insignificance in the long eternity of time; the deserts speak of his insignificance right now." ~ Edwin Way Teale (1899-1980)
"If any of you happens to see an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant. And you have an obligation to do something." ~ June Callwood (1924-2007), accepting Writers' Trust Award (7 March 2007)
"I believe in kindness. I believe it's very communicable just as meanness is. Strangers hold doors for one another. Sometimes they say thank you, sometimes they don't. Something in us says: 'If I hold this door it helps this person, and that person is slightly changed.' Great consideration for one another — that's what's going to save the world." ~ June Callwood (1924-2007), CBC interview (2 April 2007)
3. "A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort." ~ Sydney Smith (1771-1845), 'Elementary Sketches of Moral Philosophy' (pub. 1849)
"Whatever you are from nature, keep to it; never desert your own line of talent. Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else, and you will be ten thousands times worse than nothing." ~ Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
"The days are too short even for love; how can there be enough time for quarreling?" ~ Margaret Gatty (1809-1873), 'Parables From Nature' (1861)
"Remain true to yourself, child. If you know your own heart, you will always have one friend who does not lie." ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999), 'The Forest House' (1993)
"To know you are ignorant is the beginning of wisdom. Then, when you begin to learn, you will not have to forget all the things you think you know." ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-1999)
"The lives of happy people are dense with their own doings — crowded, active, thick. But the sorrowing are nomads, on a plain with few landmarks and no boundaries; sorrow's horizons are vague and its demands are few." ~ Larry McMurtry (b. 1936)
"Most young dealers of the Silicon Chip Era regard a reference library as merely a waste of space. Old Timers on the West Coast seem to retain a fondness for reference books that goes beyond the practical. Everything there is to know about a given volume may be only a click away, but there are still a few of us who'd rather have the book than the click. A bookman's love of books is a love of books, not merely of the information in them." ~ Larry McMurtry (b. 1936), 'Books' (2008)
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