His face is livid, gaunt his whole body, his breath is green with gall; his tongue drips poison.
John Quincy AdamsRead
The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code; it contained many statutes . . . of universal application-laws essential to the existence of men in society, and most of which have been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of laws.
Interpretation
The Sinai code embodies laws essential for societal existence, blending civil, moral, and religious principles.
John Quincy Adams reflects on the comprehensive nature of the laws given from Sinai, asserting that they are not merely religious but also civil and moral frameworks essential for societal coexistence. He emphasizes that many of these laws are universally applicable and have been adopted by various nations throughout history, highlighting their fundamental role in establishing order and justice in human society.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of justice in community, one might reference this quote to emphasize the foundational nature of legal codes.
His face is livid, gaunt his whole body, his breath is green with gall; his tongue drips poison.
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
It is among the evils of slavery that it taints the very sources of moral principle. It establishes false estimates of virtue and vice: for what can be more false and heartless than this doctrine which makes the first and holiest rights of humanity to depend upon the color of the skin?
The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.
I have no predilection for unpopularity as such, but I hold it much preferable to the popularity of a day, which perishes with the transient topic upon which it is grounded.
According to the Stoics, all vice was resolvable into folly: according to the Christian principle, it is all the effect of weakness.
From birth to death you go on living, groping in darkness with no light - and you could have created the light. You cannot find it in the scriptures; nobody can hand it to you. It is not purchased or sold; it is nontransferable. But you can create it - you can put all your energies together. You can start living consciously from this very moment.
And I began to feel sorry for myself; for so many years, my drawer full of memories had held the same old stories.
The military mind always imagines that the next war will be on the same lines as the last. That has never been the case and never will be. One of the great factors on the next war will be aircraft obviously. The potentialities of aircraft attack on a large scale are almost incalculable.
To have and not to give is often worse than to steal.
Neoliberalism has left Britain's boss classes drunk on triumphalism, paying themselves record salaries and bonuses while their workers are imprisoned by poverty and insecurity. It was never going to last.
The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West . . . But Christ came to bring about reconciliation and peace.
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