The Spherical Model quote file keeps growing. The Fourth of
July got me thinking, even more than usual, about how the political, economic,
and social spheres all interrelate. So, with that in mind, here’s another
sampling from the quote file:
"Declaration of Independence" painting by John Trumbull |
You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not.
I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to
maintain this Declaration [of Independence], and support and defend these
States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and
glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that
posterity will triumph in that day's transaction, even although we should rue
it, which I trust in God we shall not.—John Adams, July 3, 1776
"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang
separately."
—Benjamin
Franklin, July 4, 1776
Happiness,
whether in despotism or democracy, whether in slavery or liberty, can never be
found without virtue.—John Adams
All the
principles of science are of divine origin. Man cannot make or invent or
contrive principles. He can only discover them, and he ought to look through
the discovery to the Author.—Thomas Paine
Without
God, there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of
life.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
No people will tamely
surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is
diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally
ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight
without the Aid of foreign Invaders.—Samuel Adams
This
is still God’s world. The forces of evil, working through some mortals, have
made a mess of a good part of it. But it is still God’s world. In due time,
when each of us has had a chance to prove ourselves—including whether or not we
are going to stand up for freedom—God will interject himself, and the final and
eternal victory shall be for free agency.
And
then shall those complacent people on the sidelines, and those who took the
wrong but temporarily popular course, lament their decisions.
To the
patriots I say this: Take that long eternal look.
Stand
up for freedom, no matter what the cost. Stand up and be counted. It can help
to save your soul—and maybe your country.—Ezra Taft Benson
Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace
and Christ a cross, but that same Christ will rise up and split history into
A.D. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. Yes,
“the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”—Martin
Luther King, Jr. (quoting 19th Century abolitionist Theodore Parker)
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of
him, but because he loves what is behind him." — G.K. Chesterton
No enactment
of man can be considered law, unless it conforms to the law of God.—William
Blackstone
The only way we
can keep our freedom is to work at it. Not some of us. All of us. Not some of
the time, but all of the time. So if you value your citizenship and you want to
keep it for yourself and your children and their children, give it your faith,
your belief, and give it your active support in civic affairs.—Spencer W.
Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,
405; from an address given at the Rotary Club, SLC, UT, June 8, 1976
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