For sin is just this, what man cannot by its very nature do with his whole being; it is possible to silence the conflict in the soul, but it is not possible to uproot it
Interpretation
Sin is a natural conflict within us that cannot be completely eliminated, only silenced.
This quote from Martin Buber expresses the idea that sin represents a fundamental conflict within human nature that is inherent to our existence. While one might suppress or silence this internal struggle, the essential nature of the conflict cannot be entirely eradicated, highlighting the complexity of moral decision-making and the human experience.
In practice
In a discussion on morality and ethics, one might quote this to illustrate the internal struggles humans face.
When I confront a human being as my Thou and speak the basic word I-Thou to him, then he is no thing among things nor does he consist of things. He is no longer He or She, a dot in the world grid of space and time, nor a condition to be experienced and described, a loose bundle of named qualities. Neighborless and seamless, he is Thou and fills the firmament. Not as if there were nothing but he; but everything else lives in his light.
Play is the exultation of the possible.
There is no room for God in him who is full of himself.
Every person born in this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique.
It is usual to think of good and evil as two poles, two opposite directions, the antithesis of one another...We must begin by doing away with this convention.
God dwells wherever man lets Him in.
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration.
This was not guilt: guilt is what you feel when you have done something wrong. What I felt was shame: I was what was wrong.
Rivers and mountains are beautiful and made heroes bow and compete to catch the girl- lovely earth. Yet the emperors Shih Huang and Wu Ti were barely able to write. The first emperors of the Tang and Sung dynasties were crude. Genghis Khan, man of his epoch and favored by heaven, knew only how to hunt the great eagle. They are all gone. Only today are we men of feeling.
There once was a child, and he strolled about a good deal, and thought of a number of things. He had a sister, who was a child too, and his constant companion. These two used to wonder all day long. They wondered at the beauty of the flowers; they wondered at the height and blueness of the sky; they wondered at the depth of the bright water; they wondered at the goodness and the power of God who made the lovely world.
Here we go mother on the shipless ocean. Pity us, pity the ocean, here we go.
Certainly one of the highest duties of the citizen is a scrupulous obedience to the laws of the nation. But it is not the highest duty.
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