Truth is one forever absolute, but opinion is truth filtered through the moods, the blood, the disposition of the spectator.
Wendell PhillipsRead
Write on my gravestone: 'Infidel, Traitor.', infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people.
Interpretation
This quote expresses a commitment to stand against injustice, both in religious and governmental contexts.
Wendell Phillips' quote reflects his strong moral stance against any form of oppression and compromise with wrongdoing. By choosing the words 'Infidel' and 'Traitor,' he highlights the idea that true integrity may often put one at odds with established institutions that prioritize conformity over justice.
In practice
In a speech advocating for civil rights, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of standing against oppression.
Truth is one forever absolute, but opinion is truth filtered through the moods, the blood, the disposition of the spectator.
Seldom ever was any knowledge given to keep, but to impart; the grace of this rich jewel is lost in concealment.
If you want to be an orator, first get your great cause.
Debt is the fatal disease of republics, the first thing and the mightiest to undermine governments and corrupt the people.
Organize, and stand together. Claim something together, and at once; let the nation hear a united demand from the laboring voice, and then, when you have got that, go on after another; but get something.
On a single winged word hath hung the destiny of nations.
Merely by describing yourself as black you have started on a road towards emancipation, you have committed yourself to fight against all forces that seek to use your blackness as a stamp that marks you out as a subservient being.
My dear Excellency! I have not gone to war to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.
I'm gay and always have been, even when I was David Jones.
In Macbeth a lady is restrained from the murder of a king by his resemblance of her father as he slept. Should not all men be restrained from acts of violence and even of unkindness against their fellow men by observing in them something which resembles the Savior of the World? If nothing else certainly, a human figure?
The soldier who gropes for glory must submit himself to discipline. Subordination gives strength and security to an army. He that will not submit to it when corrected and improved by the experience of ages does not deserve the proud appellation of a soldier.
Has he paid his dues? Is he black enough? John Lewis and I were out there marching and organizing sit-ins back in the '60s so that his children and my children would not have to do it. We would have been failures if had to do the same things we did.
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