Slumber not in the tents of your fathers. The world is advancing.
Giuseppe MazziniRead
A Country is not a mere territory; the particular territory is only its foundation. The Country is the idea which rises upon that foundation; it is the sentiment of love, the sense of fellowship which binds together all the sons of that territory.
Interpretation
A country is defined by its people and shared ideals, not just its physical land.
Giuseppe Mazzini emphasizes that the essence of a country transcends its geographical borders. While territory provides a physical space, the true nature of a nation is rooted in the collective sentiments, shared love, and fellowship among its people. This idea points to the importance of national identity and unity, which is built upon shared values and emotional connections rather than mere physical boundaries.
In practice
In a speech about national identity, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of shared values among citizens.
Slumber not in the tents of your fathers. The world is advancing.
We form an association of brothers in all points of the globe ... yet there is one unseen that can hardly be felt, yet it weighs on us. Whence comes it? Where is it? No one knows ... or at least no one tells. This association is secret even to us the veterans of the Secret Societies.
Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart, blushing, whispered the first word of love; it is the home that God has given you that by striving to perfect yourselves therein you may prepare to ascend to him.
Preach in the name of God. The learned will smile; ask the learned what they have done for their country. The priests will excommunicate you; say to the priests that you know God better than all of them together do, and that between God and His law you have no need of any intermediary. The people will understand you, and repeat with you: We believe in God the Father, who is Intelligence and Love, Creator and Teacher of Humanity. And in this saying you and the People will conquer.
So long as you are ready to die for humanity, the life of your country is immortal.
God has given you your country as cradle, and humanity as mother; you cannot rightly love your brethren of the cradle if you love not the common mother.
There's the constant concern with what happens to you when you die. Every society thinks about that and makes things to deal with that.
A likely impossibility is always preferable to an unconvincing possibility.
People who have no weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them.
In Nicaragua, liberty, equality and the rule of law were the stuff of dreams. But in Paris I discovered the value of those words.
Tessa was convinced that it was a lie, and also that everything she had done in her life, telling herself that it was for the best, had been no more than blind selfishness, generating confusion and mess all around. But who could bear to know which stars were already dead, she thought, blinking up at the night sky; could anybody stand to know they all were?
Seemingly, man has learned to live without God, preoccupied and indifferent toward Him and concerned only about material security and pleasure.
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