Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me thy servant, who humbly prostrate myself before thee.
George WashingtonRead
Your late purchase of an estate in the colony of Cayenne, with a view to emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit would diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country; but I despair of seeing it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of humanitarian actions and the hope for a widespread moral awakening.
In this quote, George Washington speaks to the moral responsibility of individuals to take philanthropic actions, such as the emancipation of slaves. He wishes that such a noble spirit would become common in society, although he expresses skepticism about whether this will actually happen, highlighting the struggle against social injustices of his time.
Themes
HumanityEmancipationPhilanthropyMoral ResponsibilitySocial Justice
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on human rights, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of individual actions in the fight against injustice.
More from George Washington
All quotes →If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.
George WashingtonRead
The duty of holding a Neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of Peace and amity toward other Nations.
George WashingtonRead
We began a contest for liberty ill provided with the means for the war, relying on our patriotism to supply the deficiency. We expected to encounter many wants and distressed we must bear the present evils and fortitude
George WashingtonRead
What is most important of this grand experiment, the United States? Not the election of the first president but the election of its second president. The peaceful transition of power is what will separate this country from every other country in the world.
George WashingtonRead
Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.
George WashingtonRead
Similar quotes
The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us. When the world seems familiar, when one has got used to existence, one has become an adult.
Eugene IonescoRead
It is true that men themselves made this world of nations... but this world without doubt has issued from a mind often diverse, at times quite contrary, and always superior to the particular ends that men had proposed to themselves.
Giambattista VicoRead
Whoever you hate will end up in your family. You don't like gays? _x000D_ You're gonna have a gay son. You don't like Puerto Ricans? Your _x000D_ daughter's gonna come home with Livin' La Vida Loca!
Chris RockRead
Of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?
DiogenesRead
We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.
William JamesRead
The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.
Mahatma GandhiRead