The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
We believed in God, trusted in man, and lived with the illusion that every one of us has been entrusted with a sacred spark.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a belief in a higher power and the intrinsic value of every individual.
Elie Wiesel's quote speaks to the deep-seated human belief in God and the trust in humanity, suggesting that each person carries an inherent sacredness within them. This 'sacred spark' implies that regardless of the trials and tribulations we face, there is an essential value and dignity in each person, which encourages us to treat one another with respect and compassion.
Themes
BeliefHumanityValueSacrednessTrust
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about faith in humanity.
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.
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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.
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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
It quite often happens that the old man is subject to the delusion of a great moral renewal and rebirth, and from this experience he passes judgments on the work and course of his life, as if he had only now become clear-sighted; and yet the inspiration behind this feeling of well-being and these confident judgements is not wisdom, but weariness .
Friedrich NietzscheRead
I am a personal optimist but a skeptic about all else. What may sound to some like anger is really nothing more than sympathetic contempt. I view my species with a combination of wonder and pity, and I root for its destruction. And please don't confuse my point of view with cynicism; the real cynics are the ones who tell you everything's gonna be all right.
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Every day my conscience makes confession relying on the hope of Your mercy as more to be trusted than its own innocence.
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
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Death when unmasked shows us a friendly face and is a terror only at a distance.
Oliver GoldsmithRead