Great Throughts Treasury

"Saints are persons who make it easier for others to believe in God."

"“No road to peace exists other than that of the narrow path whose name is conversion."

"Lord, be before us to lead us, be behind us to encourage us, be beneath us to carry us, be above us to bless us, be around us to protect us, be within us so that in body and soul we may serve you for the glory of your Name."

"I like to quote the words of Kierkegaard, that 'life ia a poem that we are able to write ourselves; but a Christian lets God write his life's poem."

"The human heart is fickle, and therefore peace must, according to the words of the prophet, safeguarded by law and order."

"It is my belief that "leaving ourselves in peace" with our self-conceit and evil passions does not lead to real peace. Peace can be reached only through fighting against the ancient Adam in ourselves and in others. Our generation has lived through not only a world catastrophe, but also through a violent inner revolution. People with unshakable faith in progress, believing that the world was on the road to Paradise, suddenly found themselves plunged into the darkest hell of hatred and duplicity. Filled with anguish, we asked ourselves whether the church, which had been called the Prince of Peace, had fulfilled its duty. Had we not sung on every Sunday "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men"? Had we not pronounced on every Christmas Day "The boot and the bloodstained cloak worn by the soldier in battle shall be burnt and destroyed by fire... Eternal peace must be secured and sustained by law and justice"?"

"The question is not flung out from a great teacher to any particular pupil in the class; it creeps of itself into anxious and thoughtful hearts quietly pondering the duty of man and the future of our race. The flying colors and the rumbling drums are spread out beneath fresh winds and sunny skies. The clop of horses' hooves, the beat of drums, the blast of shiny trumpets go before. Men follow. Not those between thirty-five and fifty - they have no such desire. They are not taken in. But the growing ones, the young to whom new gods are to be given, new ideas, new dreams, new tasks - the youth that is to build a new world? Poor world!""

"The world has not yet drunk its fill of blood sacrificed for human vanity, sin, envy, and tyranny. The cease-fire was not accompanied by trumpet blasts, banners, and jubilation, but limped its way from grave to grave, from line to line. We can still hear the death rattle of our wounded friends. Weapons have lost their splendor and fascination; human bankruptcy is complete; people are tired, worn out, only glad to have escaped death-humanity lays down its arms. This is not victory; this is defeat on all sides. Ragged, sick, hungry, and disillusioned, men wander aimlessly through devastated fields. In the silence of armistice they wend their way, thinking of those at home and those left out there. The great of the world have fallen, organized power is broken, old gods are sated with blood and hatred. Old clothes have to be burnt; the bloodstained uniform is no longer of use - it can no longer frighten children or disguise youth. Decorations are no longer envied as a proof of bravery; they are bonds, connections with a dying generation. Everyone fought, everyone was brave, everyone needed courage to fight. Now nothing is left. Things went too far. Mankind realized that the whole world had to find a new direction. The end came just before Advent. All Saints Day saw them struggling with death. Armistice Day saw men passing on in great numbers to those other lands which cannot be mapped by physics, mathematics, and medicine."