July 2, 2016. Elie Wiesel passed away in New York City. He was a humanitarian. He was a brilliant man. He was a Jew that suffered at the hands of the Nazis during World War II, one of millions of people sent to and abused in concentration camps. In honor of Elie Wiesel's life, I've compiled a list of 15 of his greatest quotes, quotes of significance that people should live by.
“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”
I've never thought of this before, but it's so true.
“There is divine beauty in learning... To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been here before me, and I walk in their footsteps. The books I have read were composed by generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and disciples. I am the sum total of their experiences, their quests. And so are you.”
This makes me feel significant.
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.”
Amen to that! So many people suffer...
“No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.”
We are all people... We all have a beating heart. Why should differences in belief make a difference?
“There's a long road of suffering ahead of you. But don't lose courage. You've already escaped the gravest danger: selection. So now, muster your strength, and don't lose heart. We shall all see the day of liberation. Have faith in life. Above all else, have faith. Drive out despair, and you will keep death away from yourselves. Hell is not for eternity. And now, a prayer - or rather, a piece of advice: let there be comradeship among you. We are all brothers, and we are all suffering the same fate. The same smoke floats over all our heads. Help one another. It is the only way to survive.”
This is a quote from Night, but it has some principles in life today.
“Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty.”
Yes, this is the truth despite how hard it can be...
“Music does not replace words, it gives tone to the words.”
This is why I always listen to music for every mood.
“We cannot indefinitely avoid depressing subject matter, particularly it it is true, and in the subsequent quarter century the world has had to hear a story it would have preferred not to hear - the story of how a cultured people turned to genocide, and how the rest of the world, also composed of cultured people, remained silent in the face of genocide."
This is one of the saddest quotes that still remains true. How many people today say that the Holocaust never happened?
“I am not so naïve as to believe that this slim volume will change the course of history or shake the conscience of the world. Books no longer have the power they once did. Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow.”
Be the change!
“I have learned two lessons in my life: first, there are no sufficient literary, psychological, or historical answers to human tragedy, only moral ones. Second, just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.”
Absolutely beautiful.
“Indifference to me, is the epitome of all evil.”
A continuation of the first quote on this list...
“Life belongs to man, but the meaning of life is beyond him.”
What is the meaning of life?
“I still believe in man in spite of man. I believe in language even though it has been wounded, deformed, and perverted by the enemies of mankind. And I continue to cling to words because it is up to us to transform them into instruments of comprehension rather than contempt. It is up to us to choose whether we wish to use them to curse or to heal, to wound or to console.”
Another quote from one of his books.
“Bite your lips, little brother...Don't cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now...Wait. Clench your teeth and wait...”
Hope for the best... Tomorrow will come!
And finally...
“I believe in God--in spite of God! I believe in Mankind--in spite of Mankind! I believe in the Future--in spite of the Past!”
In spite of everything...
