"Had Japan been a tenth as wise as Abraham Lincoln, had Hitler been a hundredth part as sensible, we today, the United States and England, would not have a chance in this war. Had those two enemies of ours coveted the lands upon subject peoples dwell today and had they whispered the magic word freedom to those peoples, they might have set half the world against us in a moment. But they have lost because they attacked lands already free, and because they have enslaved peoples accustomed to freedom. By this one thing alone, if by no other, they are doomed. They have misread the hearts and minds of men. By their enslavement of the peoples whom they have made subject by force of arms, they have aroused against themselves a greater force than can be found in any army, in any weapon. It is this- the will of men everywhere to be free. Let us learn today from Abraham Lincoln, as we fight this war still so far from victory. He could not win that war until he lit the fire in the hearts of men and women enslaved. Nothing had been enough to make men rise up and shout aloud for victory until that moment. A few men like war and enjoy it as a game. But most men and all women hate war. They will not fight with their whole hearts unless they are set aflame. And the torch is always the same words. Whisper those words and men and women will shout them aloud and sing them as they march. The words are simple but they are the most potent in the universe- they are the spiritual dynamite of victory. The words? "All persons held as slaves... are and henceforward shall be free.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Anti-communists from the United StatesHistorical novelistsWomen academics from the United StatesHuman rights activistsWomen activists from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 195
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pearl_S._Buck
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (born Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker; Chinese: 赛珍珠; Pinyin: Sài Zhēnzhū; 26 June 1892 – 6 March 1973), primarily known as Pearl S. Buck, was a prolific American writer. In 1938, she became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
73 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Pearl S. Buck →
Related Quotes
"The truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it."
"I grew up believing that the novel has nothing to do with pure literature. So I was taught by scholars. The art of li…"
"Nothing and no one can destroy the Chinese people. They are relentless survivors. They are the oldest civilized peopl…"
"There was an old abbot in one temple and he said something of which I think often and it was this, that when men dest…"
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and so they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after gene…"
"Shri Guru Granth Sahib is a source book, an expression of man's loneliness, his aspiration, his longings, his cry to …"
"To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death."
"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word — excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it."
"Ah well, perhaps one has to be very old before one learns how to be amused rather than shocked."
"The Chinese novel was written primarily to amuse the common people. And when I say amuse I do not mean only to make t…"