Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to life as long as God himself Elie Wiesel More Quotes by Elie Wiesel More Quotes From Elie Wiesel A holy war is a contradiction in terms. War dehumanizes, war diminishes, war debases all those who wage it. Elie Wiesel contradiction holy war The opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. Elie Wiesel i-hate-my-life apathy opposites We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph. Elie Wiesel triumph treasure secret This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century - solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others. Elie Wiesel lonely loneliness responsibility A man who is fighting for the future of mankind is not waiting for torture, he's waiting for -- the Revolution. Elie Wiesel fighting waiting men For in my tradition, as a Jew, I believe that whatever we receive we must share. Elie Wiesel tradition share believe I don't want my past to become anyone else's future. Elie Wiesel my-past want past Only fanatics — in religion as well as in politics — can find a meaning in someone else’s death. Elie Wiesel wells fanatics Hunger is isolating; it may not and cannot be experienced vicariously. He who never felt hunger can never know its real effects, both tangible and intangible. Hunger defies imagination; it even defies memory. Hunger is felt only in the present. Elie Wiesel real imagination memories Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies. Elie Wiesel indifference attitude death I learned to trust the threats of enemies before the promises of friends. Elie Wiesel threat enemy promise There are so many who know more than I do, who understand the world better than I do. I would be truly learned, a great scholar, if only I could retain everything I've learned from those I have known. But then would I still be me? And isn't all that only words? Words grow old, too; they change their meaning and their usage. They get sick just as we do; they die of their wounds and then they are relegated to the dust of dictionaries. And where am I in all this? Elie Wiesel sick dust would-be The stars were only sparks of the fire which devoured us. Should that fire die out one day, there would be nothing left in the sky but dead stars, dead eyes. Elie Wiesel stars eye fire What is being lost is the magic of the word. I am not an image person. Imagery belongs to another civilization: the caveman. Caveman couldn't express himself so he put images on walls. Elie Wiesel wall magic civilization When has religion ever been unifying? Religion has introduced many wars in this world, enough bloodshed and violence. Elie Wiesel religious evil war The more you ask certain questions, the more dangerous they become. Elie Wiesel dangerous asks certain For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile. Elie Wiesel gratitude grateful thank-you Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate - healthy virile hate - for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German. Elie Wiesel holocaust healthy hate He explained to me with great insistence that every question posessed a power that did not lie in the answer. Elie Wiesel insistence answers lying Write only if you cannot live without writing. Write only what you alone can write. Elie Wiesel ifs writing inspirational
