1. “All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” (Seán O'Casey)
2. “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” (William Shakespeare, <Hamlet>)
3. "Manche Männer bemühen sich lebenslang, das Wesen einer Frau zu verstehen. Andere befassen sich mit weniger schwierigen Dingen z. B. der Relativitätstheorie."
(Albert Einstein)
4. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.”
(Mahatma Ghandi)
5. “It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
(Carl Sagan, <Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space>)
6. "Auf eigenen Beinen im Leben stehen ist schwierig, aber noch schwieriger ist es, charakterlich und seelisch allein zu stehen
und doch standhaft zu bleiben."
(Anne Frank, <Tagebuch>)
7. “These wonderful narrations inspired me with strange feelings. Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle, and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike. To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honour that can befall a sensitive being; to be base and vicious, as many on record have been, appeared the lowest degradation, a condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm. For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased, and I turned away with disgust and loathing.” (Mary Shelley, <Frankenstein>)
8. “Physically there is nothing to distinguish human society from the farm-yard except that children are more troublesome and costly than chickens and calves and that men and women are not so completely enslaved as farm stock.”
(George Bernard Shaw, <Getting Married>)
9. Abigail Van Buren on
DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been dating for nearly two years. He would literally do anything for me. He's incredibly affectionate and supportive, and a lot of women would love to have someone like him.
My problem is we see the world through completely different eyes. I'm an artist. I want to go out and explore the world and do crazy things. He's more comfortable at home with video games and he's not comfortable mingling with crowds. He can be overprotective sometimes, and when I bring up my concerns about possibly breaking up, he doesn't take me seriously and says, You do this every time you're upset. We live together and are dependent both financially and emotionally. Honestly, I would like to stay with him, but I'm torn about what to do. Should I leave someone I should be grateful for in order to chase selfish dreams? Or should I stay and encourage him to change? -- CHASING MY DREAMS
DEAR CHASING YOUR DREAMS: Your boyfriend isn't going to change. If you can't accept him the way he is, then it would be better for both of you to separate.
10. "We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers."
