💬 Quotes

"The beauty of the adventure is that it is the unknown, and because it is the unknown, it is untried and untrodden."

"Embedded in the corrosive and often polarizing details of the daily political debate is a broader, more enduring narrative about who we are as a people."

"Our law isn't just atext; it's a living instrument, an ever-expanding circle of empathy that has slowly brought within its boundaries those once left out."

"Faith can be a deeply personal matter, but it can also be a bridge to civic action and a shared moral language for public debate."

"Change in America usually happens slowly, by fits and starts, driven by the arduous work of coalition building and the messy compromise of legislation."

"At the heart of the American dream is the idea that the marketplace should reward talent and effort, and that accidents of birth should not dictate one's destiny."

"We cannot afford the luxury of pretending that our problems respect national borders; in a connected world, our security is tied to the security of others."

"Often as I was sitting down to a meal of potatoes and salt, some man would come in and begin to talk with a strange, grave intensity, until I forgot my food in the interest of the talk."

"This life on the lonely islands gives them a curious intimacy with the sea, and a willingness to face death that is part of their daily habit."

"Man is master of this place only when he is at work; when he is at rest, the forces of nature—the wind, the rain, and the vast expanse of the sea—assert themselves and reduce him to insignificance."

"They have all the traditional culture that belongs to the older civilisations, and their speech has a directness and emotional power that we have lost in our modern life."

"In these islands one is reminded of the ancient history of humanity, where the simple struggle for food and shelter is the boundary of existence."

"Erris is a place of stone; everywhere you look there are grey rocks, and walls built to keep the meagre soil from being washed into the sea by the winter gales."

"I was born a slave—born in the fetters of slavery—and during the eventful years of my life I have experienced vicissitudes strange and varied."

"My hands were busy; I could think while working, and my thoughts were ever active. The desire to be free was strong within me."

"I had resolved to buy my freedom, and the freedom of my child. It was a brave resolve, but I knew that I had strong hands and a willing heart."

"Mrs. Lincoln was naturally kind-hearted, but she was a woman of strong impulses, and lacked that calm, evenly-balanced judgment which is so essential in high positions."

"The war cloud burst, and the country was plunged into the horrors of civil strife. Sorrow and desolation entered many homes, and the White House was not exempt."

"I have often been asked if I suffered much during the years of my bondage. Physical suffering I endured, but the bitterest pangs were felt in my soul."

"I didn't want my work to be an exposure of my personality, so I thought of work which had already been made clear by other people."