One moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves

Etty Hillsum

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it toward others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.

~ from AN INTERRUPTED LIFE by Etty Hillsum, thanks to Liz Stewart

An Interrupted Life

peace

Buy on Amazon

Newsletter Subscription

There is no cost to have the Friends of Silence monthly letter sent to you each month.

Yes, I want to subscribe!

Donate Now

For the past 35 years, a small band of dedicated friends have poured their hearts and love into Friends of Silence.

Each month we send out the newsletter in print and email to a growing community of over 10,000 people.

The monthly newsletter of contemplative quotes remains free and is made possible by your generosity and support.

If our work brings you any hope and a sense of belonging, then please consider supporting our labor of love with a donation.

And if you’ve already given, from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU.

Donate Now

Free Daily Quote

Enjoying the Friends of Silence monthly newsletter? Now you can sign up to receive a free daily quote in your inbox each morning taken from more than 39 years of 422 newsletters and 5,600 quotes on silence and the contemplative path.

Sign Me Up!

Follow Us on Substack

We are now sending out our monthly newsletters from Substack. Join our online community on Substack. It's free.

Open Substack

Search Quotes

Quotations by Author
Quotations by Source
Quotations by Topic
Try Our Quote Machine!
Get iPhone App

Quote of the Day

The spring is back. The earth is like a child
who’s learnt a heap of poems off by heart:
so many of them, and how hard she toiled!
But she wins prizes now; she has them pat.

At school, her teacher was a strict old man,
although we liked the whiteness of his beard.
Now, when we ask her please to give a name
to colours green or blue, she knows the word!

Earth, you’re in luck; today’s a holiday.
We children want to catch you; come and play.
Whoever laughs the most will win the game.

Her teacher’s lessons, wearisome and long,
are printed in each root, each stiff, straight stem.
And listen now: she’s turned them into song!

~ Rainer Maria Rilke, "Sonnets to Orpheus Part One: XXI", as translated by John Richmond