The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
I never felt any attraction towards violence. I never tried to express myself through violence. Violence is a language.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Elie Wiesel emphasizes that violence is not a means of expression for him, highlighting its nature as a language that conveys deeper issues.
In this quote, Elie Wiesel reflects on his personal aversion to violence and rejection of it as a form of communication. By stating that violence is a language, he suggests that it carries messages and signifies deeper conflicts that should be addressed through dialogue rather than aggression. Wiesel's assertion invites contemplation on the reasons behind violent acts and the importance of seeking understanding rather than resorting to harm.
Themes
ViolenceLanguageCommunicationUnderstandingConflict
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about social justice, one might use this quote to highlight the futility of violence in resolving conflicts.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
Similar quotes
Two or three angels Came near to the earth. They saw a fat church. Little black streams of people Came and went in continually. And the angels were puzzled To know why the people went thus, And why they stayed so long within.
Stephen CraneRead
The history of Rome presents various men of greater genius than Scipio Aemilianus, but none equalling him in moral purity, in the utter absence of political selfishness, in generous love of his country, and none, perhaps, to whom destiny has assigned a more tragic part.
Theodor MommsenRead
Fair play with others is primarily the practice of not blaming them for anything that is wrong with us. We tend to rub our guilty conscience against others the way we wipe dirty fingers on a rag. This is as evil a misuse of others as the practice of exploitation.
Eric HofferRead
Attending church does not necessarily mean living the principles taught in those meeting. You can be active in a church but inactive in its gospel.
Stephen CoveyRead
Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances.
Lord ActonRead
God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.
Marcus GarveyRead