The concept is a truism as a pedagological argument, whether it is freedom you are talking about or any other set of opposing precepts. It has to do with whether black could exist if white did not, the presence and absence of something is predicated in order to know the essence of anything-hot cold-life death-good evil. Remember that Gandhi was a barrister, trained in the traditions of logical argument at Oxford.

I believe Dick is correct, but the nature of forgiveness here applies to what a stranglehold the lack of it has on those that hold resentment and hatred and revenge within themselves. I do not take it to mean that you also do not punish people for wrong doings,

I have come to believe that more than anything we are here to learn forgiveness--its implications are infinite.

Sober and true.

I agree as it applies to the masses living the unexamined life...but in a twist it also in a positive way applies to the life of an artist.

Of course. But I especially like knowledge is not intelligence as evidenced so frequently on this blog.

The only chance there is for human understanding, cooperation, peaceful coexistence and forgiveness is to embrace our common humanity. This quote is a simple expression of this fact. It has nothing to do with a belief in god or atheism. To assume it does perpetuates the misconception that the human being could not be innately moral without a dictatorial god figure who provides the rules that otherwise stupid humans could never figure out. Three are many examples of social forms of moral order from Rousseau, Humanism, Buddhism and other eastern philosophies that achieve high moral ground without reliance on a patriarchal god figure. For people who do not embrace the interventionist god mythology it is a such a simple discussion that we usually do not even bother having it.

Who we are we must become. Action is the only path to self actualization. You cannot just think about it for the intellectualization of anything is no substitute for direct experience.

Freedom is a responsibility is alot like saying education is lost on the young. If Americans do not wake up to the fact that their freedom is not a guarantee but is at increasing risk then perhaps it should be taken from them so they can experience its value through absense.

One of the beauties of Judaism is its tradition of unending study of the holy word. A continual quest for new and deeper enlightened meaning is an intellectual beacon that uniquely exists in this faith. Unlike Christianity that thinks the word of god is etched in stone, the Jews embrace the same idea except apply the tenet that since the interpretation of God's word is always human it must therefore be subject to revision. Would that Christians could embrance this idea and move beyond the literalism with which they take the words of an antiquated tome written over centuries by many different human scribes and colored by mythologies and a variety of pre-scientific facts.

Perhaps the height of integrity is to live one's convictions fully which is not so easy to do, but to aspire to it is the first step.

Dear Editor, Thank you for your response. I appreciate the fine line you must walk, and also that you do not want to loose one of the nice features of the site which is that one's comment posts immediately, not delayed so some arbitration can be imposed. Your forthcoming 'soapbox' will be interesting. I just felt finally I would say something--the two of them should just start emailing one another! But aside from this issue, I want to compliment you on this amazing site, the compilation of quotes are astounding and your choices erudite. It wakes my mind up each morning, and is much better than suduko for stimulating those little gray cells--as Poirot would chime. Have a wonderful holiday and thank you for the gift of ideas that your efforts afford.

Nice sentiment if it were true.Many who take up the sword make others perish by it but do not end up doing so themselves.

FOR THE EDITOR: This diatribe (webster's: bitter, malicious criticsim or abuse, often a waste of time) between D.L.R. and Archer has now gone to extreme limits in terms of what I believe this blog should allow. Their bickering exchange to this particlular quote actually mirrors the quote itself-words can be powerful and damaging. I have gone back over the week's quotes and comments and David behaves like a pit bull--or like some politicans we know he brokers no dissent and ridicules and discredits any of his detractors-a classic bully's tactic. In David's case it seems indicative of the insecurites from which most religious zealots suffer. As the editor, could you please restrain these exchanges as it creates a distraction from the more focused analysis of the quotes. And aside from his many other errors in intellectual substance David continues to fail to rate the quotes, but usually goes directly to attacking Archer. I am not trying to defend Archer--he needs no defense--but this is taking away from the quality of what has been a very interesting presentation of ideas.

David, you have issues that have little to do with the quotes at hand.

In Aquinas' oeuvre salavation had everything to do with an after life. Although his precepts are good I don't embrace the idea that they should be followed for the sake of anchieving angel-hood...how about just living up to the more-real impreative of this worldly journey.

That certainly gets people off the hook.

God has nothing to do with it. Our government was formed by the people for the people--not that we live up to that blessed mandate, but an interventionist god is a very limited idea of what god preoccupies herself with.

Exquisite. And interesting to see how many categories it is recorded in. How many of the quotes we read have had such broad relevance: Agnostic, America, Compassion, Conscience, Courage, Death, Duty, Fear, Free Thought, Freedom, God, Happiness, Honor, Humility, Individual Rights, Integrity, Liberty, Love, Patriotism, Religion, Respect, Responsibility, Service, Spirituality, Tolerance, Truth, Victory, Wisdom.

Robert, I agree, but how about in all hotel rooms instead of Gideon's contribution to divisive theology.

Could never give Einstein a thumbs down but obviously this before he never proved his unified field theory. To me that the universe is incomprehesible says nothing about the universe but everything about the inherent limitations of the human brain. If the words inconprehensible and comprehensible were reversed, at least in the ocntext of physics in 2006, it would be more accurate.

A famous Zen koan--when you meet the Buddha kill him.

Virtue like goodness is not so apparent until it is taken away. This is why the good among us do not passionately love their natural state as they do not see it as unique, for them it is a given. The good will fight for righteousness when the weak are noticeably oppressed by the corrupt. Oh...except when it comes to Darfur.

The Dali Lama also has said that the only way to eliminate your enemy is to make him your friend. If we do not continually build the foundations for peace we will never achieve it. This is why america's foreign policy and diplomacy is so short sighted and flawed. We have not avoided our current engagement with violence nor are we sufficiently preparing to avoid one twenty years into our future by the fact that our actions breed more hatred and resentment.

A clue to his error in thinking is that he seems to be asking someone to be 'allowed' to make this assumption--not something a true Renaissance man would need to do. Well, that a myrid of other reasons.