The free man must be born before freedom can be won, and the brotherly man must be born before full brotherhood can be won. It will come into being only if we build it out of our very muscle and bone - by trying to act it out.

A liberation movement that is nonviolent sets the oppressor free as well as the oppressed.

Of course it can be said of jails, too, that they try - by punishing the troublesome - to deter others. No doubt, in certain instances this deterrence actually works. But generally speaking it fails conspicuously.

Nonviolent action does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences.

What is the revolution that we need? We need to dissolve the lie that some people have a right to think of other people as their property. And we need at last to form a circle that includes us all, in which all of us are seen as equal... We do not belong to the other, but our lives are linked; we belong in a circle of others.

It is one thing to be able to state the price the antagonist paid, another to be able to count you own real gains.

Think first of the action that is right to take, think later about coping with one's fears.