“We are not called upon to do all the good that is possible, but only that which we can do.”

“Democracy and freedom do not guarantee the millennium. No, we do not choose political freedom because it promises us this or that. We choose it because it makes possible the only dignified form of human coexistence, the only form in which we can be fully responsible for ourselves. Whether we realize its possibilities depends on all kinds of things — and above all on ourselves.”

“We do not choose political freedom because it promises us this or that. We choose it because it makes possible the only dignified form of human coexistence, the only form in which we can be fully responsible for ourselves. Whether we realize its possibilities depends on all kinds of things — and above all on ourselves.”

“If only we could see in advance all the harm that can come from the good we think we are doing.”

“We do not fear being called meticulous, inclining as we do to the view that only the exhaustive can be truly interesting.”

“Sometimes we do not know what role we play until it is thrust upon us and we can only then do our best to carry it off.”