Quotations (some with slogans and information) for activists for the causes of Human Rights, Animal Rights, and The Environment. Plus Motivational and Inspirational Quotes.
“We have seen that the senses and intuitions, the various emotions and faculties, such as love, memory, attention and curiosity, imitation, reason, etc., of which man boasts, may be found in an incipient, or even sometimes in a well-developed condition, in the lower animals.”
Charles Darwin
Who was Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, in full Charles Robert Darwin, (born February 12, 1809, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England—died April 19, 1882, Downe, Kent), English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies. Read more: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Darwin
Read about Charles Darwin’s influence on animal rights. Animal Rights: A History, Charles Darwin Although Darwin was never an animal rights advocate his theory of evolution has profound implications for the way in which we consider our relationship to non human animals and the way we treat them.
“Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war” Albert Einstein
Who was Albert Einstein? >
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics.
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention” Khalil Gibran
Who was Khalil Gibran? Gibran Khalil Gibran, usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist, also considered a philosopher although he himself rejected the title. Read More https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahlil_Gibran
If he be really and seriously seeking to live a good life, the first thing from which he will abstain will always be the use of animal food, because …its use is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to the moral feeling – killing. Leo Tolstoy
Who was Leo Tolstoy? Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.
Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, 1828 – 1910 is best known as one of Russia’s greatest novelists, the most well known of his novels are War and peace and Anna Karenina. He was also a contemporary of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky another advocate of vegetarianism and animal rights.
Tolstoy was however more than a writer he was a moral philosopher, a humanitarian, and a mystic. After his conversion to vegetarianism he lived upon simple food such as bread, fruits vegetables and porridge.
“The man who has become a thinking being feels a compulsion to give every will-to-live the same reverence for life that he gives to his own. He experiences that other life in his own.” Albert Schweitzer
Who was Albert Schweitzer?
Albert Schweitzer (January 14, 1875-September 4, 1965) was born into an Alsatian family which for generations had been devoted to religion, music, and education. His father and maternal grandfather were ministers; both of his grandfathers were talented organists; many of his relatives were persons of scholarly attainments.
Albert Schweitzer, animal rights and a reverence for life
Albert Schweitzer developed a philosophy which he called a “Reverence for Life”, for which he received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize; he considered this philosophy his greatest contribution to mankind. He thought that Western civilisations were decaying as a result of the abandonment of its ethical foundation, namely the affirmation of and respect for life. Reverence for life was an essential part of Schweitzer’s personal Philosophy which he hoped would be made known throughout the world by means of his books and talks and through his own example.
“At sunset of the third day, near the village of Igendja, we moved along an island set in the middle of the wide river. On a sandback to our left, four hippopotamuses and their young plodded along in our same direction. Just then, in my great tiredness and discouragement, the phrase, Reverence for Life, struck me like a flash. As far as I knew, it was a phrase I had never heard nor ever read. I realized at once that it carried within itself the solution to the problem that had been torturing me. Now I knew that a system of values which concerns itself only with our relationship to other people is incomplete and therefore lacking in power for good. Only by means of reverence for life can we establish a spiritual and humane relationship with both people and all living creatures within our reach. Only in this fashion can we avoid harming others, and, within the limits our our capacity, go to their aid whenever they need us.”
“To loose patience is to lose the battle”
Mahatma Gandhi.
Who was Mahatma Gandhi?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British Rule, and in turn inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world
“Race prejudice is not only a shadow over the colored — it is a shadow over all of us, and the shadow is darkest over those who feel it least and allow its evil effects to go on.”
Purl S Buck
Who was Purl S Buck ?
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was an American writer and novelist. As the daughter of missionaries, Buck spent most of her life before 1934 in Zhenjiang, China. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
Wendell Berry
Who is Wendell Berry?
Wendell Erdman Berry is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. He is an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a recipient of The National Humanities Medal, and the Jefferson Lecturer for 2012.
“Prejudice is a burden which confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
Maya Angelou
Who was Maya Angelou?
Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou
“I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in”
George McGovern
Who is George McGovern?
George Stanley McGovern was an American historian, author, U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_McGovern
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