Search Black History
by Month/ Day  
/
or Keyword

Haile Selassie Quotes

Haile Selassie's photo

Haile Selassie

1892 - 1975
more on Haile Selassie
"A purely materialistic art would be like a tree which is expected to bear fruit without flowering and to sacrifice grace and beauty for mere utility"
"A well informed public opinion is essential to the growth of political and social awareness. Only he who is informed can comment intelligently on his nation's development and only by such comments can errors be corrected and progress stimulated"
"All well ordered and modern states can only base themselves upon Courts of Justice and Conduct of Laws which are just, correct and geared towards the protection of the rights of individuals. Justice is a product of education."
"Any who may wish to profit himself alone from the knowledge given him, rather than serve others through the knowledge he has gained from learning, is betraying knowledge and rendering it worthless"
"As man's faculty attains higher level of development and sophistication, so do his wants in life"
"Democracy, Republic: What do these words signify? What have they changed in the world? Have men become better, more loyal, kinder? Are the people happier? All goes on as before, as always. Illusions, illusions"
"Education develops the intellect; and the intellect distinguishes man from other creatures. It is education that enables man to harness nature and utilize her resources for the well-being and improvement of his life"
"Every labourer is a father, his labour is his child. Choose your project carefully and achieve it worthily"
"He who would be a leader must pay the price in self-discipline and moral restraints. This details the correction and improvement of his personal character, the checking of passions and desires and an exemplary control of one's bodily needs and desires"
"If each and everyone endeavours to cooperate and work in as much as his capacity permits, our faith rests upon the Almighty God that he would bless the results for us"
"It is both the duty and responsibility of the world's fortunate few to help fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the unfortunate many"
"It is much easier to show compassions to animals. They are never wicked."
"Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always well supplied with people who wish to rule and dominate others"
"Life is like the theatre - One mustn't try to understand it all at once and immediately. It is no longer amusing."
"Observe that anyone who dies for his country is a fortunate man, but death takes what it wants, indiscriminately, in peace-time as well as in war. It is better to die with freedom than without it."
"Planning is the basis of the rational and sustained use of capital, manpower and time in the acceleration of economic development"
"That which man dreams of and to Which he aspires, unless fulfilled in his own lifetime, can produce no actual satisfaction to him. It will be self deceiving and a waste of time to advocate dialogue with those who are not ready to listen, because it is obvious that the freedom of millions is not a commodity subject to bargaining. It is better to die free than to live as slaves.
"
"The art of leadership is in the ability to make people want to work for you, while they are really under no obligation to do so. Leaders are people, who raise the standards by which they judge themselves and by which they are willing to be judged. The goal chosen, the objective selected, the requirements imposed, are not mainly for their followers alone. They develop with consumate energy and devotion, their own skill and knowledge in order to reach the standard they themselves have set"
"The true leader is a different sort; he seeks effective activity which has a truly beneficient purpose. He inspires others to follow in his wake, and holding aloft the torch of wisdom, leads the way for society to realize its genuinely great aspirations"
"The ultimate resource of a nation is its people. Unless this resource is employed for the benefit of the nation, unless the latent good which it represents is exploited to the maximum for the common good the nation will languish, poor in spirit, lacking in achievernent"
"There are good men and wicked. The former should be made use of and the latter punished, without attempting to understand why the ones are good and the others wicked."
"There is always something moving, brewing. There are ambitious people everywhere. Wicked people. The only thing to do is to deal with them with courage and decision. One must beware of uncertainty, weakness or conflicting emotions - they lead to defeat"
"There is nothing as precious to man as a sound mind in a sound body and it is essential that the physical well being of our people merits as much attention as its spiritual welfare"
"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."
"We believe in the peaceful settlement of all disputes without resorting to force"

. previous page. more about Haile Selassie
. gwendolyn brooks quotes. hank aaron quotes