This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
In all ages, literature aims at the interpretation of the universe and a deep perception of humanity by means of language.
Aims | Humanity | Language | Literature | Means | Perception | Universe |
Authentic humanity evolves to the extent that blind egotism erodes. To expand the heart and mind in ever-wider circles of empathy so that, starting with oneself, those circles embrace one’s family, one’s community, one’s nation, and finally humanity - this is the Confucian aim.
Any industrial technology that dramatically extends our capabilities also makes us uneasy by challenging our concept of humanity itself.
Humanity | Technology |
Nancy Newhall, fully Nancy Wynne Newhall
Conservation is humanity caring for the future.
Conservation | Future | Humanity |
Death is but a new birth of the spirit into the great unknown.
People who know they will die live very carefully. Not careful as in fearful; careful as in full of care. Every word, every act, every relationship holds the possibility of giving birth to something filled with great care. And that thing need not be showy or dramatic, for the most potent spiritual acts are often acts of breathtaking simplicity: a simple prayer, a sip of wine and a piece of bread, a single breath in meditation, a sprinkling of water on the forehead, an exchange of rings, a kind word, a hand on the cheek, a blessing.
Birth | Care | Giving | Meditation | Need | People | Prayer | Relationship | Simplicity | Will |
How are we to bring children to the spirit of citizenship and humanity which is postulated by democratic societies? By the actual practice of democracy at school. It is unbelievable that at a time when democratic ideas enter into every phase of life, they should have been so little utilized as instruments of education.
Children | Citizenship | Democracy | Education | Humanity | Ideas | Life | Life | Little | Practice | Spirit | Time |
Ernest Renan, aka Joseph Ernest Renan
All the great things of humanity have been accomplished in the name of absolute principles.
Absolute | Humanity | Principles |
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, fully Sir or Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Once upon a time, Buddha relates, a certain king of Benares, desiring to divert himself, gathered together a number of beggars blind from birth and offered a prize to the one who should give him the best account of an elephant. The first beggar who examined the elephant chanced to lay hold of a leg, and reported that an elephant was a tree-trunk; the second, laying hold of the tail, declared that an elephant was like a rope; another, who seized an ear, insisted that an elephant was like a palm-leaf; and so on. The beggars fell to quarrelling with one another, and the king was greatly amused. Ordinary teachers who have grasped this or that aspect of truth quarrel with one another, while only a Buddha knows the whole.
Man is but a short, critical stage between the animal and the spiritual. His state is one of constant wavering, of soaring and descending. Undeviating humanity is nonexistent. The emancipated man is yet to emerge.
Tired of humanity and its heritage laden with a tiny heart emptied of its contents, we wander each in his own way, purposeless and helpless.
Desmond Tutu, fully Desmond Mpilo Tutu
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.
Humanity |
We believe that humanity stands at the threshold of its next great leap. However, our success in making this transition depends on our willingness to develop a greater vision and a clearer sense of responsibility for one another. Understanding and articulating the nature and dynamics of consciousness is key to achieving this new vision.
Consciousness | Humanity | Nature | Responsibility | Sense | Success | Understanding | Vision |