Emperor Haile Selassie
“Peace is a day-to-day problem, the product of a multitude of events and judgments. Peace is not an ‘is,’ it is a ‘becoming.'”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Do not worship me, I am not God. I’m only a man. I worship Jesus Christ.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“If a strong government finds that it can, with impunity, destroy a weak people, then the hour has struck for that weak people to appeal to the League of Nations to give its judgment in all freedom. God and history will remember your judgment.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook. We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man’s basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance: courage to speak and act – and if necessary, to suffer and die – for truth and justice; eternal vigilance, that the least transgression of international morality shall not go undetected and unremedied.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Above all, we must avoid the pitfalls of tribalism. If we are divided among ourselves on tribal lines, we open our doors to foreign intervention and its potentially harmful consequences.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“I have lived too long to cherish many illusions about the essential high-mindedness of men when brought into stark confrontation with the issue of control over their security, and their property interests.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Peace demands the united efforts of us all. Who can foresee what spark might ignite the fuse?”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“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.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the ways of God.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“If you are open-minded and ready to learn, there are many things which you can learn not only from books and instructors but form the very life experience itself.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Our youth must be steadfast and take advantage of the benefits of modern civilization. Do not fall prey to idleness for it shall be a curse to you and to succeeding generations. You must set yourselves us as examples of determination and hard work. Plan your time and use both your physical and mental powers purposefully and productively.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Many discouraging hours will arise before the rainbow of accomplished goals will appear on the horizon.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“A man who says “I have learned enough and will learn no further” should be considered as knowing nothing at all.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie
“Imagination, devotion, perseverance, together with divine grace, will assure your success. Knowing that material & spiritual progress are essential to man, we must ceaselessly work for the equal attainment of both. It is only when a people strike an even balance between scientific progress & spiritual & moral advancement that it can be said to possess a wholly perfect and complete personality and not a lopsided one.”
― Emperor Haile Selassie