A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it. – Frederick Douglass
We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future. – Frederick Douglass
Mans greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done. – Frederick Douglass
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. – Frederick Douglass
We think that diamonds are very important, gold is very important, all these minerals are very important. We call them precious minerals, but they are all forms of the soil. But that part of this mineral that is on top, like it is the skin of the earth, that is the most precious of the commons. – Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), Dirt! The Movie, 2009