Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
- Reinhold Niebuhr
man, i love this quote. it was what i was trying to look up in my notebook a couple of weeks ago when i discovered the notebook was missing. i pulled it from a rather obscure book i encountered on Pender Island called How the Irish Saved Civilization.
after losing the notebook, and with the libraries on strike, i more or less gave up on the quote. then whamo, i ran into someone on a ferry (which in all likelihood is where i lost the notebook in the first place) who was reading the book! we were just about to unload, so i hastily scribbled the thing down. in all likelihood the man thought i was insane, but was polite enough about the whole interaction (afraid?).
p.s. Mutanabbi reading on friday. be there.
sounds a bit too much like opiate of the masses for my tastes! But congrats on being brave enough to hassle your fellow ferry passengers.
ReplyDeleteoh don't go giving religion a monopoly on hope, faith and love now, leopold ;).
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