Soren Kierkegaard, from Fear and Trembling
“The true knight of faith is a witness, never a teacher, and therein lies his deep humanity, which is worth a good deal more than this silly participation in others’ weal and woe which is honored by the name of sympathy, whereas in fact it is nothing but vanity.”
Marie Curie, on the individual
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Rabindranath Tagore, on patriotism
“Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds, and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live. ”
Martin Luther King Jr., on Mohandas K. Gandhi
“If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. We may ignore Gandhi at our own risk.”
Liu Xiaobo, on freedom of expression
“Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity, and the mother of truth.”
The First Amendment Blog 