We light the oven so that everyone may bake bread in it.
Jose MartiRead
Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Liberty is essential for a fulfilling and perfect life, just as vital components are necessary for function.
In this quote, Jose Marti emphasizes the fundamental importance of liberty by comparing it to essential elements of life, such as bones for the body or wings for a bird. He suggests that life without liberty is inherently flawed, thus highlighting that true fulfillment and perfection in life can only be achieved in the presence of freedom.
Themes
LibertyLifeFreedomEssenceImperfection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of human rights and civil liberties.
More from Jose Marti
All quotes →Men have no special right because they belong to one race or another: the word man defines all rights.
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Other famous men, those of much talk and few deeds, soon evaporate. Action is the dignity of greatness.
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Man is a living duty, a depository of powers that he must not leave in a brute state. Man is a wing.
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Like stones rolling down hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or hinder them, but impossible to stop them.
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Just as he who gives his life to serve a great idea is admirable, he who avails himself of a great idea to serve his personal hopes of glory and power is abominable, even if he too risks his life.
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