Slogans can be worse than swords if they are only put in the right mouths. Zora Neale Hurston More Quotes by Zora Neale Hurston More Quotes From Zora Neale Hurston It seems to me to be true that heavens are placed in the sky because it is the unreachable. The unreachable and therefore the unknowable always seems divine--hence, religion. People need religion because the great masses fear life and its consequences. Its responsibilities weigh heavy. Feeling a weakness in the face of great forces, men seek an alliance with omnipotence to bolster up their feeling of weakness, even though the omnipotence they rely upon is a creature of their own minds. It gives them a feeling of security. Zora Neale Hurston omnipotenceresponsibilitymen Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the grand-daughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. Slaver y is sixty years in the past. The operation was successful and the patient is doing well, thank you. The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said "On the line!" The Reconstruction said "Go!" I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep. Zora Neale Hurston daughterstruggledepression She starched and ironed her face, forming it into just what people wanted to see. Zora Neale Hurston faceswantedpeople Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear. Zora Neale Hurston fearinspiringhappiness I do not pray. . . . I do not expect God to single me out and grant me advantages over my fellow men. . . . Prayer seems to me a cry of weakness, and an attempt to avoid, by trickery, the rules of the game as laid down. I do not choose to admit weakness. I accept the challenge of responsibility. Zora Neale Hurston responsibilityprayermen Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. Zora Neale Hurston granddaughterelbowsblack Oh to be a pear tree – any tree in bloom! With kissing bees singing of the beginning of the world! Zora Neale Hurston singingkissingtree Why fear? The stuff of my being is matter, ever changing, ever moving, but never lost; so what need of denominations and creeds to deny myself the comfort of all my fellow men? The wide belt of the universe has no need for finger-rings. I am one with the infinite and need no other assurance. Zora Neale Hurston comfortmenmoving All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood. Zora Neale Hurston flowerrealfear Everybody is two beings: one lives and flourishes in the daylight and stands guard. The other being walks and howls at night. Zora Neale Hurston daylightnighttwo Silence is all the genius a fool has. Zora Neale Hurston foolgeniussilence So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day. Zora Neale Hurston ambermoonearth Mystery is the essence of divinity Zora Neale Hurston divinitymysteryessence A thing is mighty big when time and distance cannot shrink it. Zora Neale Hurston distanceinsightfulbigs I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife. Zora Neale Hurston black-historyknivesoysters It's no use of talking unless people understand what you say. Zora Neale Hurston usetalkingpeople No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you. Zora Neale Hurston words-of-wisdomafrican-americanmatter I love myself when I am laughing. Zora Neale Hurston i-love-myselflovelaughing I made up my mind to keep my feelings to myself since they did not seem to matter to anyone else but me. Zora Neale Hurston mattermindfeelings Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships. Zora Neale Hurston oceanlifepeople
