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Unity

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Unity in diversity
~ Anonymous ~

Concepts of Unity, commonly also known as Oneness; the state or fact of existing as one indivisible entity.

Quotes

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Individualities will differ one from another. But in reality this is a reason for unity and not for discord and enmity. If the flowers of a garden were all of one color, the effect would be monotonous to the eye; but if the colors are variegated, it is most pleasing and wonderful. ~ `Abdu'l-Bahá
Sorted alphabetically by author or source
United we stand; divided we fall. ~ Aesop
The distribution of the world's resources and the settled unity of the peoples of the world are in reality one and the same thing, for behind all modern wars lies a fundamental economic problem. Solve that and wars will very largely cease.~Alice Bailey
Unity: noun... the state of being joined together or in agreement; Unity is also the quality of having the ideas and examples in a piece of writing clearly related to the topic and to each other. ~ Cambridge University Press
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. ~ Norman Maclean
Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilisation, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment is made possible through passionate concern for choice, in an atmosphere of social trust. ~ Michael Novak
Heart of my heart, we are one with the wind,
One with the clouds that are whirled o'er the lea,
One in many, O broken and blind,
One as the waves are at one with the sea! ~ Alfred Noyes
One, we are one, O heart of my heart,
One, still one, while the world grows old. ~ Alfred Noyes
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ~ Psalms 133:1
The world needs the unifying power of the imagination. The two things that give it best are poetry and religion. ~ R. S. Thomas
  • As difference in degree of capacity exists among human souls, as difference in capability is found, therefore, individualities will differ one from another. But in reality this is a reason for unity and not for discord and enmity. If the flowers of a garden were all of one color, the effect would be monotonous to the eye; but if the colors are variegated, it is most pleasing and wonderful. The difference in adornment of color and capacity of reflection among the flowers gives the garden its beauty and charm. Therefore, although we are of different individualities, . . . let us strive like flowers of the same divine garden to live together in harmony. Even though each soul has its own individual perfume and color, all are reflecting the same light, all contributing fragrance to the same breeze which blows through the garden, all continuing to grow in complete harmony and accord.
  • United we stand; divided we fall.
  • Aesop in "The Four Oxen and the Lion", Fables, also known as "The Lion and the Bulls"
  • During the war of the dogs and the wolves, the dog-assembly chose an Achaean to be their commander. Although he was an expert in the art of war, the commander waited and delayed. With fierce threats, the dogs urged him to advance and to engage in battle but the commander explained, 'Here is the reason why I delay and act with caution! One must always make plans with an eye to the future. All of the enemy whom I have seen are wolves, members of the same breed, whereas some of us are dogs from Crete, some are Molossian hounds, some are Acarnanians, others are Dolopians, while others boast of being from Cyprus or Thrace. Still others come from other places -- what need is there to go on at length? We are not even the same colour, as the wolves are: some of us are black, some are grey, some are red with white-spotted chests, and some of us are white all over. How can I lead troops who are so lacking in unity to fight against an enemy who all resemble each other in every possible way?'
  • Misato: Don't you want to be comfortable? To be restful? Don't you want to become one with us? Body and soul, too... become one.
  • What was sundered and undone shall be whole, the two made one.
  • Unity we must create, but not necessarily uniformity.
    • Aurobindo, Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo: The Human Cycle,The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self-Determination , 1997: 423).quoted in Malhotra, R., & Infinity Foundation (Princeton, N.J.). (2018). Being different: An Indian challenge to western universalism.
  • If man could realize a perfect spiritual unity, no sort of uniformity would be necessary; for the utmost play of diversity would be securely possible on that foundation. If again he could realize a secure, clear, firmly held unity in the principle, a rich, even an unlimited diversity in its application might be possible without any fear of disorder, confusion or strife.
    • Aurobindo, Collected Works of Sri Aurobindo: The Human Cycle,The Ideal of Human Unity, War and Self-Determination , 1997: 423) quoted in Malhotra, R., & Infinity Foundation (Princeton, N.J.). (2018). Being different: An Indian challenge to western universalism.
  • We are all equal, despite the country we come from, and national differences should be ignored. We are all a unity. We must shed all jealousy and envy because they are harmful. We are all one with each other and with God.
  • The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another in the utmost love and harmony. …So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.
  • Baha'u'llah, as quoted in The Baháí̕ Temple : House of Worship of a World Faith (1942) edited by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States
  • The distribution of the world's resources and the settled unity of the peoples of the world are in reality one and the same thing, for behind all modern wars lies a fundamental economic problem. Solve that and wars will very largely cease. In considering, therefore, the preservation of peace, as sought for and emphasized by the United Nations at this time, it becomes immediately apparent that peace, security and world stability are primarily tied up with the economic problem. When there is freedom from want, one of the major causes of war will disappear. Where there is uneven distribution of the world's riches and where there is a situation in which some nations have or take everything and other nations lack the necessities of life, it is obvious that there is a trouble-breeding factor there and that something must be done. Therefore we should deal with world unity and peace primarily from the angle of the economic problem.
    • Alice Bailey in Problems Of Humanity, Chapter VI - The Problem of International Unity (1944)
  • It is essential for the future happiness and progress of humanity that there should be no return to the old ways, whether political, religious or economic. Therefore, in handling these problems we should search out the wrong conditions which have brought humanity to its present state of almost cataclysmic disaster. These conditions were the result of religious faiths which have not moved forward in their thinking for hundreds of years; of economic systems which lay the emphasis upon the accumulation of riches and material possessions and which leave all the power and the produce of the earth in the hands of a relatively few men, while the rest of humanity struggle for a bare subsistence; and of political regimes run by the corrupt, the totalitarian-minded, the grafters and those who love place and power more than they love their fellowmen... Security, happiness and peaceful relations are desired by all. Until, however, the Great Powers, in collaboration with the little nations, have solved the economic problem and have realized that the resources of the earth belong to no one nation but to humanity as a whole, there will be no peace. The oil of the world, the mineral wealth, the wheat, the sugar and the grains belong to all men everywhere. They are essential to the daily living of the everyday man.
    • Alice Bailey in Problems Of Humanity, Chapter VI - The Problem of International Unity (1944)
  • The world economic council (or whatever body represents the resources of the world) must free itself from fraudulent politics, capitalistic influence and its devious scheming; it must set the resources of the earth free for the use of humanity. This will be a lengthy task but it will be possible when world need is better appreciated. An enlightened public opinion will make the decisions of the economic council practical and possible. Sharing and cooperation must be taught instead of greed and competition.
    • Alice Bailey in Problems Of Humanity, Chapter VI - The Problem of International Unity (1944)
  • Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
  • [A]s the great extreme of dimension is sublime, so the last extreme of littleness is in the same measure sublime... when we attend to the infinite divisibility of matter, when we pursue animal life into these excessively small, and yet organized beings... when we push our discoveries yet downward... in tracing which the imagination is lost as well as the sense; we become amazed and confounded at the wonders of minuteness; nor can we distinguish in its effects this extreme of littleness from the vast itself. For division must be infinite as well as addition; because the idea of a perfect unity can no more be arrived at, than that of a complete whole, to which nothing can be added.
  • We can no longer separate things as we once could: everything tends towards unity; one thing, one action, in one place, at one time. On the other hand, we can no longer unify things as we once could; we are driven to ultimate atoms, each one of which is an individuality. So that we have an infinite multitude of things doing an infinite multitude of actions in infinite time and space; and yet they are not many things, but one thing.
  • Unity: noun... the state of being joined together or in agreement; Unity is also the quality of having the ideas and examples in a piece of writing clearly related to the topic and to each other.
  • Despite the immense diversity of creation, we all accept that there exists in nature a profound underlying unity. The search for this unity provides the motivation for the lives of many different men — some who, like Einstein, search for it in general natural laws and others who, like Teilhard de Chardin, would trace cosmic evolution to a divine origin.
  • Tous pour un, un pour tous, c'est notre devise
    • All for one, one for all, that is our motto.
    • Alexandre Dumas,The Three Musketeers, (1844) Ch. 9: D'Artagnan Shows Himself
  • A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.
    • Albert Einstein in Condolence letter to Norman Salit, (4 March 1950); also quoted in "The Einstein Papers. A Man of Many Parts" in The New York Times (29 March 1972)
  • Ra's al Ghul: In the new world, all peoples will be united, every race, every faith, every creed will find common purpose... our world is not for everyone. Only those who prove their worth will enter it. The rest will be purged... and if nine hundred and ninety-nine must perish for every one who lives... so be it!
  • David Hine Azrael Vol 2 #18
  • Unity implies the coming together of elements which are, to begin with, varied and diverse in their particular natures. Our persistence in examining the tensions within diversity encourages growth toward our common goal. So often we either ignore the past or romanticize it, render the reason for unity useless or mythic.
  • He loved her so passionately he wanted her to be one soul and one body with him; and he was conscious that here, with those deep roots attaching her to the native life, she would always keep something from him.
  • Oh, shame to men! devil with devil damn'd
    Firm concord holds, men only disagree
    Of creatures rational.
  • Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilisation, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race. This attainment is made possible through passionate concern for choice, in an atmosphere of social trust.
    • Michael Novak, Unity in Diversity : An Index to the Publications of Conservative and Libertarian Institutions (1983)
  • Heart of my heart, we are one with the wind,
    One with the clouds that are whirled o'er the lea    ,
    One in many, O broken and blind,
    One as the waves are at one with the sea!
    Ay! when life seems scattered apart,
    Darkens, ends as a tale that is told,
    One, we are one, O heart of my heart,
    One, still one, while the world grows old.
    • Alfred Noyes, in "Unity", in The Golden Hynde and Other Poems (1914)
  • As soon as an object is regarded as a dynamic entity, then analysis and definition become both difficult and unsatisfactory. Thinking is under such circumstances well-nigh impossible for most people. To think at all logically, no matter how concretistic the thought may be, there must be some static point. Where, now are we to look for this point? The man of action answers, in its effect. Then an object becomes completely separated... from all other objective elements as well as from the perceiving self. ...Reality, in other words, is pragmatic. ...Like all other philosophers, he [the thinker, as opposed to the man of action] is... aware of the movement and the shifting form of things. He is as much impressed by this as the man of action. But the world must first be static and objects must first take on a permanent or, at least, a stable form before one can deal with them systematically. ...The attempts of these primitive thinkers are embodied in numerous creation myths... the task is always the same—an original, moving, shapeless or undifferentiated world must be brought to rest and given stable form. ...There exist, however, many things that manifestly do not have permanence of form and do look different at different times. Philosophers have always given the same answer to this problem and predicated a unity behind these changing aspects and forms.
  • God, creating the universe, neither made it perfectly like Himself, nor perfectly unlike, for He, being One, has made the world as not one, from the diverse multiplicity of its innumerable parts, ordaining, nevertheless, that they should collect into a certain unity by their exact contiguity. The upper world has no connexion with this subject; the lower, and elementary world, owes this contiguity to the weight divinely impressed on its parts, aided by the subtle fluidity of some of its simple bodies. It is by this quality, with which the matter of the four elements is more or less invested, that they are separated from one another, and each transported to its proper place, as the generation of compounds, and the beauty of the universe requires.
    • John Rey, Essays (1630) as quoted in Art IX. A Translation of Rey's Essays on the Calcination of Metals, &c. (1821) The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature, and the Arts, Vol. XI (1821) pp. 80-83. A translation as communicated by John George Children, Esq., F.R.S., &c. Ref: Rey J., Essays de Jean Rey, sur la recherche de la cause pour laquelle l'estain et le plomb augmentent de poids quand on les calcine. Nouvelle édition revue sur l'exemplaire original et augmentée sur les manuscrits de la Bibliothèque du Roi et des Minimes, avec des notes par M. Gobet. Paris, Ruault, 1777.
  • All of the sons of Adam are part of one single body,
    They are of the same essence.
    When time afflicts us with pain
    In one part of that body
    All the other parts feel it too.
    If you fail to feel the pain of others
    You do not deserve the name of man.
    • Saadi Shirazi, Bani Adam (ca. 1250) as inscribed on a rug installed (2005) on the wall of a meeting room, United Nations, New York.
  • So we grew together,
    Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
    But yet an union in partition —
    Two lovely berries moulded on one stem;
    So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart;
    Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,
    Due but to one, and crowned with one crest.
  • In the "Alexandrian" explanation described above, the multiple from which evolution emerges is both secondary and sinful from its origin: it represents in fact (an idea that smacks of Manicheanism and the Hindu metaphysical systems) broken and pulverized unity. Starting from a very much more modern and completely different point of view, let us assert, as our original postulate, that, the multiple (that is, non-being, if taken in the pure state) being the only rational form of a creatable (creabile) nothingness, the creative act is comprehensible only as a gradual process of arrangement and unification, which amounts to accepting that to create is to unite. And, indeed, there is nothing to prevent our holding that union creates. To the objection that union presupposes already existing elements, I shall answer that physics has just shown us (in the case of mass) that experientially (and for all the protests of "common sense") the moving object exists only as the product of its motion.
  • Though free to think and act, we are held together, like the stars in the firmament, with ties inseparable. These ties cannot be seen, but we can feel them. I cut myself in the finger, and it pains me: this finger is a part of me. I see a friend hurt, and it hurts me, too: my friend and I are one. And now I see stricken down an enemy, a lump of matter which, of all the lumps of matter in the universe, I care least for, and it still grieves me. Does this not prove that each of us is only part of a whole?
    For ages this idea has been proclaimed in the consummately wise teachings of religion, probably not alone as a means of insuring peace and harmony among men, but as a deeply founded truth. The Buddhist expresses it in one way, the Christian in another, but both say the same: We are all one.
  • I know that my unity with all people cannot be destroyed by national boundaries and government orders.
  • The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity.
  • I think we've had to learn better the idea that the world is governed by a unified set of laws — which we don't yet know. ... physics and chemistry are not separate sciences. And even biology, as strongly influenced as it is by historical accidents — like the shapes of the continents and the fact that a comet may have hit the Earth sixty-five million years ago — biology itself doesn't have independent laws. There is no biological law that says organisms have to evolve to get better. That's a consequence of natural selection acting on heritable variations. ... The unity of science is something we've learned. I guess you could say we have unlearned the idea that there are separate, independent principles of physics, of chemistry, of biology — all standing at the same level of being equally fundamental.

Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)

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Quotes reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 827-28.
  • When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
    • Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent
  • I never use the word "nation" in speaking of the United States. I always use the word "Union" or "Confederacy." We are not a nation but a union, a confederacy of equal and sovereign States.
  • The Constitution in all its provisions looks to an indestructible union composed of indestructible States.
    • Salmon P. Chase, decision in Texas vs. White. See Werden's Private Life and Public Services of Salmon P. Chase, p. 664
  • Neque est ullum certius amicitiæ vinculum, quam consensus et societas consiliorum et voluntatum.
    • There is no more sure tie between friends than when they are united in their objects and wishes.
    • Cicero, Oratio Pro Cnœo Plancio, II
  • Then join in hand, brave Americans all!
    By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
  • When our two lives grew like two buds that kiss
    At lightest thrill from the bee's swinging chime,
    Because the one so near the other is.
  • We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
    • Benjamin Franklin, to John Hancock at the Signing of the Declaration of Independence (4 July 1776)
  • Entzwei' und gebiete! Tüchtig Wort,
    Verein' und leite! Bess'rer Hort.
  • Was uns alle bändigt, das Gemeine.
  • Our Union is river, lake, ocean, and sky:
    Man breaks not the medal, when God cuts the die!
    Though darkened with sulphur, though cloven with steel,
    The blue arch will brighten, the waters will heal!
  • There with commutual zeal we both had strove
    In acts of dear benevolence and love;
    Brothers in peace, not rivals in command.
    • Homer, The Odyssey, Book IV, line 241. Pope's translation
  • He that is not with me is against me.
    • Luke, XI. 23
  • Then none was for a party;
    Then all were for the state;
    Then the great man helped the poor,
    And the poor man loved the great:
    Then lands were fairly portioned;
    Then spoils were fairly sold:
    The Romans were like brothers
    In the brave days of old.
  • The union of lakes—the union of lands—
    The union of States none can sever—
    The union of hearts—the union of hands—
    And the flag of our Union for ever!
  • Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
    • Psalms, CXXXIII. 1
  • Concordia res parvæ crescunt, discordia maximæ dilabantur.
    • By union the smallest states thrive, by discord the greatest are destroyed.
    • Sallust, Jugurtha, X
  • Wir sind ein Volk, und einig wollen wir handeln.
  • Seid einig—einig—einig.
  • So we grew together,
    Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
    But yet a union in partition;
    Two lovely berries moulded on one stem:
    So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart;
    Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,
    Due but to one and crowned with one crest.
  • Auxilia humilia firma consensus facit.
    • Union gives strength to the humble.
    • Syrus, Maxims
  • Quo res cunque cadant, unum et commune periculum,
    Una salus ambobus erit.
    • Whatever may be the issue we shall share one common danger, one safety.
    • Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), II. 709
  • One Country, one Constitution, one Destiny.

Anonymous

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  • In varietate concordia
  • We're all in this together.
    • English proverb, prominent during World War II, as quoted in The Railroad Trainman, Vol. 59 (1942) by Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, p. 449

Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989)

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  • In union there is strength.
    • Aesop, fable, "The Bundle of Sticks", Aesop's Fables, with drawings by Fritz Kredel, p. 122 (1947). "Union gives strength" is the version in The Fables of Aesop, ed. Joseph Jacobs, p. 87 (1964)
  • Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.
    • The Bible, Psalms 133:1–2
  • Civilisation will not last, freedom will not survive, peace will not be kept, unless a very large majority of mankind unite together to defend them and show themselves possessed of a constabulary power before which barbaric and atavistic forces will stand in awe.
    • Winston Churchill, chancellor's address, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, July 2, 1938.—Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963, ed. Robert Rhodes James, vol. 6, p. 5991 (1974)
  • All for one, one for all, that is our device, is it not?
    • Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers, Ch. 9, p. 75 (1949); D'Artagnan is speaking.
  • Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.
    • President Gerald R. Ford, remarks on taking the oath of office, August 9, 1974. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Gerald R. Ford, 1974, p. 2
  • What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country whether they be white or they be black. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: To tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and our people.
    • Robert F. Kennedy. One of the inscriptions at the Robert F. Kennedy gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. These words are taken from his extemporaneous eulogy of Martin Luther King, Jr., given at the airport in Indianapolis, Indiana, April 4, 1968.—Robert F. Kennedy: Promises to Keep, sel. Arthur Wortman and Richard Rhodes, p. 33 (1969) The printed version lacks the first two sentences above and a few words of the third, and there are other minor variations in wording. The quotation from the Greeks has been attributed to Aeschylus but has not been found in his works.
  • For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
    • Rudyard Kipling, "The Law of the Jungle", The Second Jungle Book, p. 29 (1899)
  • And see the confluence of dreams
    That clashed together in our night,
    One river born of many streams
    Roll in one blaze of blinding light!
    • George William Russell, "Salutation", last stanza, 1000 Years of Irish Poetry (1947) edited by Kathleen Hoagland, p. 617. This was written for those who took part in the Irish rebellion against England, 1916.
  • It manus in gyrum; paullatim singula vires
    Deperdunt proprias; color est E pluribus unus.
    • Spins round the stirring hand; lose by degrees
      Their separate powers the parts, and comes at last
      From many several colors one that rules.
    • Virgil, "Moretum", lines 103–4, The Works of Virgil, trans. into English verse by John Augustine Wilstach, vol. 1, p. 123 (1884). Moretum literally means garden herbs. From Virgil's minor poems, this is a tribute "to common things and plebian associations. The lines are laudatory of early habits and rustic poverty. They close with a description of the ingredients and mode of preparation of a salad composed of garlic, parsley, rue, and onions, seasoned with cheese, salt, coriander, and vinegar, and finally sprinkled with oil. "The poem is a brief one, of uncertain, but probably early date. But, brief as it is, and insignificant as it seems to be, certain of its words formulate the talisman of our National Government. "So that we may say, with probable truth, that, in describing an Italian salad, a frugal shepherd of the Roman Republic dictated that motto [E pluribus unum] which has served as the symbol of union for States in a hemisphere then unknown, for a Republic which uses, with enthusiasm, even the language of that illustrious government to which it is indebted, under so many forms, for safe precedents and wise examples" (p. 124)

See also

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