16 quotes
There are few enough people with sufficient independence to see the weaknesses and follies of their contemporaries and remain themselves untouched by them.
The World As I See It (1949)
The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can produce fine ideas and noble deeds.
The World As I See It (1949)
What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion.
The World As I See It (1949)
A man's value to the community depends primarily on how far his feelings, thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows.
The World As I See It (1949)
The state is made for man, not man for the state. And in this respect science resembles the state.
The World As I See It (1949)
And yet such an attitude would be wrong.
The World As I See It (1949)
I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.
The World As I See It (1949)
Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?
The World As I See It (1949)
When we survey our lives and endeavors we soon observe that almost the whole of our actions and desires are bound up with the existence of other human beings.
The World As I See It (1949)
Only to a tiny minority is it given to fascinate their generation by subtle humour and grace and to hold the mirror up to it by the impersonal agency of art. To-day I salute with sincere emotion the supreme master of this method, who has delighted — and educated — us all.
The World As I See It (1949)
May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers!
The World As I See It (1949)
Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.
Christianity and Judaism
The World As I See It (1949)
Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts
Production and Work
The World As I See It (1949)
The individual, if left alone from birth would remain primitive and beast-like in his thoughts and feelings to a degree that we can hardly conceive. The individual is what he is and has the significance that he has not so much in virtue of his individuality, but rather as a member of a great human society, which directs his material and spiritual existence from the cradle to the grave.
The World As I See It (1949)
If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity.
It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can. If he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and trampled under foot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the community to which he belongs lucky.
Unconfirmed
The World As I See It (1949)
The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.
Society and Personality
The World As I See It (1949)