The LIØNSBERG Book of Quotes
One of the entries in The Living Library. The compression of wisdom into pointed lines that can be read aloud in Circles, written on walls, returned to in stillness, carried in the heart.
We Have Heard It Said
What follows is gathered without attribution — not to erase lineage, but to honor the wisdom itself. The wisdom is the wisdom whether or not we name who carried it. Every quotation that follows has been borne forward through many hands across many ages. What matters is whether it speaks true, and whether it speaks into this moment, into this Sovereign, into this Circle, into this turning of the world.
Read aloud. Hold the words. Let them work.
On the Way and the Goal
"In the beginning, ØNE..."
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture of their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of the Highest and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land."
"Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone."
"Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment. Humanity is in a final exam as to whether or not it qualifies for continuance in the Universe."
"This is what man tends to call utopia. It's a fairly small word, but inadequate to describe the extraordinary new freedom of man in a new relationship to the universe — the alternative of which is oblivion."
"There is now plenty for all. War is obsolete. It is imperative that we get the word to all humanity — RUSH — before someone ignorantly pushes the button that provokes pushing of all the buttons."
"Seek first the Kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you as well."
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Most High require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your ØNE?"
"A harmonious and properly ordered society is one in which the laws and ways of humanity are conformed to the laws and ways of ØNE."
On Love
"As the One has loved me, so have I loved you."
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
"Love is not a weak, spineless emotion; it is a powerful moral force on the side of justice."
"Love is not passive. It is active, transformative, and just."
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."
"ØNE is love, and the one who abides in love abides in ØNE, and ØNE abides in them."
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of ØNE; who makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust."
"The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference."
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
"The potential for love and the potential for fear are present in every soul, but the potential of love is exceedingly and abundantly greater."
On Justice
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?"
"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed."
"Cursed is anyone who denies justice to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow."
"Maintain justice and do what is right, for salvation is close at hand and righteousness will soon be revealed."
"We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
"It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people."
"Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don't believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others."
"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."
"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies."
"Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong."
"In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same."
"Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical."
"Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just."
"There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice."
"Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice; when they fail in this purpose, they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."
"Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom."
"It is in justice that the ordering of society is centered."
"Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens."
"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice, he is the worst."
"Justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him."
"The first duty of society is justice."
"Justice is truth in action."
"It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world."
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are."
"It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity."
"Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right."
"Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all."
"He will bring justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the oppressed of the earth."
On Freedom and Liberation
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
"You can't separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless they have their freedom."
"There is no such thing as part freedom."
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
"When I liberate myself, I liberate others. If you don't speak out, no one will speak out for you."
"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
"Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society."
"Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won; you earn it and win it in every generation."
"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."
"The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity."
"The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption."
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
"Prisons do not disappear social problems; they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages."
On Truth and Wisdom
"Truth never damages a cause that is just."
"I am for truth, no matter who tells it. I am for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I am a human being, first and foremost, and as such I am for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."
"The Dark Ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This prison has no steel bars, chains, or locks. Instead, it is locked by misorientation and built of misinformation. We are powerfully imprisoned by the terms in which we have been conditioned to think."
"In order that we should embrace the truth — not in the vague way we did in childhood, nor in the one-sided and perverted way presented to us by our religious and scientific teachers, but embrace it as our highest law — the complete liberation of this truth from all superstition by which it is still obscured is essential."
"That which we call 'scientific' is now held to be unquestionable simply because it is called scientific, just as formerly all that was called 'religious' was held to be unquestionable simply because it was called religious."
"But this truth was so interwoven everywhere with all kinds of falsehoods which distorted it, that finally nothing of it remained but words."
"All that exists is One. People only call this One by different names."
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
"Education must begin by teaching people of their value and the value of other people."
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education."
"The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops, but the kind of person the country turns out."
On Courage and Action
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
"It is not where you start but how high you aim that counts for most."
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you will be criticized anyway."
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
"The time is always right to do what is right."
"When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something."
"Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."
"Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations."
"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy."
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
"Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom."
"As my sufferings mounted, I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation — either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course."
"One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
"The hero must always break the rules in order to do what is right."
"I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs."
"I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept."
"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, and how you can still come out of it."
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
"A person dies when they refuse to stand up for that which is right. A person dies when they refuse to stand up for justice. A person dies when they refuse to take a stand for that which is true."
"It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of being, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non-violent struggle for justice."
On Fear
"The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is fear."
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."
"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."
"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito."
On Peace and Reconciliation
"Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin."
"If you want peace, work for justice."
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of ØNE."
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."
"Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone."
"I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."
"We must learn to live together as siblings, or perish together as fools."
On Service and Community
"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
"Ubuntu: I am because we are."
"We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things. We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders. All are welcome. We all belong to each other."
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about."
"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth."
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another."
"Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained."
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. Why? Because human beings are the most dynamic link to the divine on this planet."
"The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members."
"The true source of rights is duty. If we all discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek."
On Today and Action
"The future depends on what you do today."
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
"The difference between what we are and what we ought to be is enough to solve all the problems of the world."
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality."
"We can only believe what we can first imagine."
"If we don't believe that our world can get better, it probably won't. What would it take for you to begin to believe?"
"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."
"It is a poor sort of memory that only works backward."
"How would you like this world to be? We have been here a long time as human beings, and we have never listened to one another answer this question."
On the Old Order and the New
"We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed."
"Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when we have the resources and the know-how to provide all with the basic necessities of life? There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will."
"In its complexities of design integrity, the Universe is technology. The technology evolved by humans is thus far amateurish compared to the elegance of nonhumanly contrived regeneration. We do not spontaneously recognize technology other than our own, so we speak of the rest as something we ignorantly call nature."
"An obvious but hidden insight is that unenlightened beings cannot create enlightened systems. Creation begins with Consciousness."
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
"Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of people and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial."
"The transcendence that the church preaches is not alienation; it is not going to heaven to think about eternal life and forget about the problems on earth. It is a transcendence from the human heart. It is entering into the reality of a child, of the poor, of those wearing rags, of the sick, of a hovel, of a shack. It is going to share with them — and from the very heart of misery, to transcend it, to elevate it, to promote it, and to say to them: You aren't trash. You aren't marginalized. You are valuable."
"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
"We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice; we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself."
"Our problems stem from our acceptance of this filthy, rotten system."
"It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. Not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, Wait on time."
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
"So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most — that has made it possible for evil to triumph."
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
On Eldership and the Long View
"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit."
"The survival of all life cannot be secured in isolation from other living beings — the crawling, swimming, winged, and four-legged relatives, the plants, the trees, the minerals. In order to achieve the much-needed balance of peace, universal love must be allowed to grow — a love that allows every person and thing to blossom. We have to include the unborn up to the seventh generation in our deliberations to find our way."
"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part."
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."
"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."
"You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
"An individual has not started living until they can rise above the narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
"It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for any group, without including all. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it."
On the One and the All
"Be not the destroyers of yourselves. Arise to your true Being, and then you will have nothing to fear."
"In every individual a spiritual element is manifested that gives life to all that exists, and this spiritual element strives to unite with everything of a like nature to itself, and attains this aim through love."
"Each one is a microphone of the Most High. Each one is a messenger, a prophet."
"Of what use is superior knowledge in the one, if they do not endeavour to relieve the neighbour's want as much as their own?"
"When ØNE created humankind, the Maker made them in the likeness of ØNE."
"What is good for the hive is good for the bee."
A Closing Word
These quotations are the compression of wisdom that has passed through many hands across many ages. They are offered as a working library — to be quoted in Circles, written on walls, taken into stillness, carried into action. They are not the Codex; the Codex carries the canonical articulation. They are companions to the Codex — pointed lines that compress whole arguments into single sentences a Sovereign can hold in the heart.
The Book grows. Add what you receive. Refine what is here. Return again. Let the words work.
The Way is older than any of these voices. The Way will outlive all of them. And the Way speaks through whoever can hear it — Sovereign, Circle, Community, or whoever, in whatever time, in whatever world, says of any of these lines:
Yes. This is true. I will live by this today.
The LIØNSBERG Book of Quotes. One of the entries in The Living Library. A continuously improving canonical companion to the Sacred Codex.