60 Quotes by Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie, the resolute statesman and monarch of Ethiopia, personified the struggle for independence, resilience, and international diplomacy. As the last emperor of Ethiopia, Selassie faced the daunting challenge of steering his country through periods of colonialism, conflict, and modernization. His passionate address to the League of Nations in 1936, decrying Italy's invasion of his homeland, showcased his unwavering commitment to justice and sovereignty. Though Ethiopia was temporarily occupied, Selassie's leadership inspired a global movement that celebrated him as a symbol of African pride and resistance against oppression. His return to Ethiopia after its liberation in 1941 was a testament to his resilience and statesmanship. Beyond his role as a leader, Selassie advocated for unity among African nations, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and self-reliance. While his reign faced internal challenges and criticisms, his legacy endures as a beacon of hope, a reminder of the power of leadership in times of adversity, and an emblem of Ethiopia's enduring spirit.
Haile Selassie Quotes
Leaders are people who raise the standards by which they judge themselves and by which they are willing to be judged. (Meaning)
To be first in place, one must be first in merit as well. (Quote Meaning)
It is us today. It will be you tomorrow. (Meaning)
Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned (Quote Meaning)
A well-organized education should not be one which prepares students for a good remuneration alone. (Meaning)
Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better. (Quote Meaning)
Our youth must be steadfast and take advantage of the benefits of modern civilization. Do not fall prey to idleness for it shall be a curse to you and to succeeding generations. You must set yourselves us as examples of determination and hard work. Plan your time and use both your physical and mental powers purposefully and productively.
If you are open-minded and ready to learn, there are many things which you can learn not only from books and instructors but from the very life experience itself.
No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the ways of God. (Meaning)
We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community. (Quote Meaning)
A man who says “I have learned enough and will learn no further” should be considered as knowing nothing at all.
Many discouraging hours will arise before the rainbow of accomplished goals will appear on the horizon.
Do not worship me, I am not God. I'm only a man. I worship Jesus Christ.
Let us set our goals too high; let us demand more of ourselves than we believe we possess (Meaning)
You must always remember that to lead, one must first learn to follow.
Spiritual power is the eternal guide, in this life and the life after, for man ranks supreme among all creatures. Led forward by spiritual power, man can reach the summit destined for him by the Great Creator.
Knowledge is power. If it is not applied properly to create, let there be no doubts, it will destroy.
There is always something moving, brewing. There are ambitious people everywhere. Wicked people. The only thing to do is to deal with them with courage and decision. One must beware of uncertainty, weakness or conflicting emotions - they lead to defeat
Any who may wish to profit himself alone from the knowledge given him, rather than serve others through the knowledge he has gained from learning, is betraying knowledge and rendering it worthless
We should accept diversity in culture and tradition and coexist peacefully. (Quote Meaning)
Education develops the intellect; and the intellect distinguishes man from other creatures. It is education that enables man to harness nature and utilize her resources for the well-being and improvement of his life
Knowledge paves the way to Love, and Love in its turn fosters understanding, and leads one along the path of great common achievements.
History teaches us that unity is strength. (Meaning)
It is important that spiritual advancement must keep pace with material advancement. When this comes to be realized man's journey toward higher and more lasting values will show more marked progress while the evil in him recedes into the background. Knowing that material and spiritual progress are essential to man, we must ceaselessly work for the equal attainment of both. Only then shall we be able to acquire that absolute inner calm so necessary to our well-being.
Imagination, devotion, perseverance, together with divine grace, will assure your success.
Feel the needs of others more than your own.
Man cannot live by bread alone. Man after all is composed of intellect and soul.
Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always well supplied with people who wish to rule and dominate others.
In the mystic traditions of the different religions we have a remarkable unity of spirit. Whatever religion they may profess, they are spiritual kinsmen. While the different religions in their historic forms bind us to limited groups and militate against the development of loyalty to the world community, the mystics have already stood for the fellowship of humanity in harmony with the spirit of the mystics of ages gone by.
A well organized education should not be one which prepares students for a good remuneration alone. It should be one that can help and guide them towards acquiring clear thinking, a fruitful mind, and an elevated spirit.
A good leader maintains a balance between emotional drive and sound thinking.
There is no power or authority without responsibility, and he who accepts the one cannot escape or evade the other.
In the history of the human race, those periods which later appeared as great have been the periods when the men and the women belonging to them had transcended the differences that divided them and had recognized in their membership in the human race a common bond.
Democracy, Republic: What do these words signify? What have they changed in the world? Have men become better, more loyal, kinder? Are the people happier? All goes on as before, as always. Illusions, illusions.
The true leader is a different sort; he seeks effective activity which has a truly beneficient purpose. He inspires others to follow in his wake, and holding aloft the torch of wisdom, leads the way for society to realize its genuinely great aspirations.
A house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain, gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down. Some people have written the story of my life representing as truth what in fact derives from ignorance, error or envy; but they cannot shake the truth from its place, even if they attempt to make others believe it.
Leadership does not mean domination.
That which man dreams of and to Which he aspires, unless fulfilled in his own lifetime, can produce no actual satisfaction to him. It will be self deceiving and a waste of time to advocate dialogue with those who are not ready to listen, because it is obvious that the freedom of millions is not a commodity subject to bargaining. It is better to die free than to live as slaves.
We must make progress slowly so as to preserve the progress we have already made.
We must act to shape and mold the future, and leave our imprint on events as they slip past into history.
There is no safer anchorage for our learning, our lives, and our public actions than that provided by Divine teachings.
The love shown in Christ by our God to mankind should constrain all of us who are followers and disciples of Christ to do all in our power to see to it that the Message of Salvation is carried to those of our fellows for whom Christ Our Saviour was sacrificed but who have not had the benefit of hearing the good news.
It is not only war that can stop war but men of goodwill, conscious of their mission can deal with such deadly enemy.
A well informed public opinion is essential to the growth of political and social awareness. Only he who is informed can comment intelligently on his nation's development and only by such comments can errors be corrected and progress stimulated
The preservation of peace and the guaranteeing of man's basic freedoms and rights require courage and eternal vigilance. (Quote Meaning)
It is both the duty and responsibility of the world's fortunate few to help fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the unfortunate many
Place principle above all else.
It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked. (Meaning)
Thousands of years ago, civilizations flourished in Africa which suffer not at all by comparison with those of other continents. In those centuries, Africans were politically free and economically independent. Their social patterns were their own and their cultures truly indigenous.
The Emperor himself amassed his great riches. The older he grew, the greater became his greed, his pitiable cupidity... he and his people took millions from the state treasurer and left cemeteries full of people who had died of hunger, cemeteries visible from the windows of the royal palace
Peace demands the united efforts of us all. Who can foresee what spark might ignite the fuse?
Outside the kingdom of the Lord, there is no nation which is greater than any other. (Quote Meaning)
Observe that anyone who dies for his country is a fortunate man, but death takes what it wants, indiscriminately, in peace-time as well as in war. (Meaning)
It is important that spiritual advancement must keep pace with material advancement.
Everyone, in all walks of life, regardless of his professional occupation should feel concerned and play an active role to solve such problems which affect mankind.
We have finished the job. What shall we do with the tools?
Until all Africans stand and speak as free human beings, equal in the eyes of the Almighty; until that day, the African continent shall not know peace.
There is nothing as precious to man as a sound mind in a sound body and it is essential that the physical well being of our people merits as much attention as its spiritual welfare
This world was not created piecemeal. Africa was born no later and no earlier than any other geographical area on this globe. Africans, no more and no less than other men, possess all human attributes, talents and deficiencies, virtues and faults.
If each and everyone endeavours to cooperate and work in as much as his capacity permits, our faith rests upon the Almighty God that he would bless the results for us
Misguided people sometimes create misguided ideas. Some of my ancestors were Oromo. How can I colonize myself?
A purely materialistic art would be like a tree which is expected to bear fruit without flowering and to sacrifice grace and beauty for mere utility (Quote Meaning)
We all wish to live. We all seek a world in which men are freed of the burdens of ignorance, poverty, hunger and disease. And we shall all be hard-pressed to escape the deadly rain of nuclear fall-out should catastrophe overtake us.
Mahatma Gandhi will always be remembered as long as free men and those who love freedom and justice live.
As is commonly said, ‘to start anything is simple; to develop it and bring it to a successful culmination takes great effort.’
An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans. (Meaning)
Peace is a day-to-day problem, the product of a multitude of events and judgments. Peace is not an 'is,' it is a 'becoming.'
Unity should be the cornerstone of relations
A house built on granite and strong foundations, not even the onslaught of pouring rain, gushing torrents and strong winds will be able to pull down.
As man's faculty attains higher level of development and sophistication, so do his wants in life
I have lived too long to cherish many illusions about the essential high-mindedness of men when brought into stark confrontation with the issue of control over their security, and their property interests.
Conflicts between nations will continue to arise. The real issue is whether they are to be resolved by force, or by resort to peaceful methods and procedures, administered by impartial institutions.
The Charter of the United Nations expresses the noblest aspirations of man: abjuration of force in the settlement of disputes between states; the assurance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion; the safeguarding of international peace and security.
One cannot deny that in former times man's life had been one of toil and hardship. It is correct to say, therefore, that modern civilization and the progress of science have greatly improved man's life and have brought comfort and ease in their trail.
― Haile Selassie Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
