Quotations on Nonviolence
“Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest of violence.”
Francis Jeffrey (1773 - 1850)
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992)
“The only thing that's been a worse flop than the organization of non-violence has been the organization of violence.”
Joan Baez (1941 - )
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963), In a speech at the White House, 1962
“There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.”
Muhammad Ali (1942 - )
“Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.”
Plutarch (46 AD - 120 AD), Lives
“The right things to do are those that keep our violence in abeyance; the wrong things are those that bring it to the fore.”
Robert J. Sawyer (1960 - ), "Calculating God", 2000
“It is by no means self-evident that human beings are most real when most violently excited; violent physical passions do not in themselves differentiate men from each other, but rather tend to reduce them to the same state.”
Thomas Elliot
“Nonviolence is the supreme law of life.”
Indian Proverb
“Nonviolence is the greatest of all religions.”
Swami Sahajanand
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”
“Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts.”
“At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love.”
“The aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness, while the aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.”
“Nonviolent resistance does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.”
“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”
“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
“Violence solves no social problems; it merely creates new and more complicated ones.”
Mohandas Gandhi:
“I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life.”
“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
“It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.”
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
“Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.”
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
“Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being.”
Cesar E. Chavez
“Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak... Non-violence is hard work. It is the willingness to sacrifice. It is the patience to win.”
"Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain."