John Jeremiah Sullivan Quotes

The offender needs pity, not wrath; those who must needs be corrected, should be treated with tact and gentleness; and one must be always ready to learn better. 'The best kind of revenge is, not to become like unto them.'

As much as it hurts, I would rather miss someone than hit someone.

Human nature is complex. Even if we do have inclinations toward violence, we also have inclination to empathy, to cooperation, to self-control.

You don't hurt 'em if you don't hit 'em.

As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them.

Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.

One should not evoke violence by acting fearful.

When someone mistreats you, the correct reaction is not to go out and do something to destroy somebody else's property.

Human beings are not our enemy. Our enemy is not the other person. Our enemy is the violence, ignorance, and injustice in us and in the other person. When we are armed with compassion and understanding, we fight not against other people, but against the tendency to invade, to dominate, and to exploit.

Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it.

Let not your rage or malice destroy a life.

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, I said, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too.

True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.

Kill if you must, but never hate: Man is but grass and hate is blight, The sun will scorch you soon or late, Die wholesome then, since you must fight

Even when people act nastily to you, don't condemn them or retaliate.

Patience puts up with those you'd like to put down

Do you think you can cure the hatreds and the maladjustments of the world by hanging them? You simply show your ignorance and your hate when you say it. You may here and there cure hatred with love and understanding, but you can only add fuel to the flames by cruelty and hate.

Above all things, I must not get angry. If I do get angry I knock all the teeth out of the mouth of the poor wretch who has angered me.

In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.

I don't like fights. I don't like aggressive people.

I have begun to sympathetically understand Paul, though I don't like him much.

As a result of my philosophy, I wasn't even upset about Hitler. I was willing to go to war to knock him off, but I didn't hate him. I hated what he was doing.

We live in a world of guns, bombs and terror. To conquer hate seems a nigh-impossible task.

Non-violence, which is the quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain.

We all get angry and jealous sometimes, none of us is perfect, but we should not try to be different.