Secrets of World War II TV - Robert Tressell - Bertrand Russell - James Joyce - Proverbs - Elizabeth I - William Shakespeare - Thomas Aquinas - John Paul II - Pope Paul VI - Matthew 19:20-24 - Acts 4:34-37 - II Corinthians 6:10 - Pliny the Younger - Buddha - Robert Tressell - Mick Quinn -
The victorious Allies were confronted with stark evidence of another aspect of Nazi rule: the systematic plunder of the wealth of occupied Europe … also the pathetic possessions of those the Nazis had murdered in their extermination camps. Secrets of World War II e20: The Nazi Plundering of Europe, 1998
He paid the money at once; half an hour afterwards the van came to take the things away, and when they were gone, Mary sank down on the hearthrug in the wrecked room and sobbed as if her heart would break. Robert Tressell, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist
They felt the loss of the bedclothes more than anything else, for although all the clothes they wore during the day, and all the old clothes and dresses in the house and even an old coloured table cloth, were put on the beds at night, they did not compensate for the blankets, and they were often unable to sleep on account of the intense cold. ibid.
It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly. Bertrand Russell
What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is my own. James Joyce, Ulysses
Possession is nine points of the law. Early 17th century proverb
All my possessions for a moment in time. Elizabeth I, attributed last words
For it so fall out
That what we have, we prise not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it, but, being lacked and lost,
Why then we rack the value, then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us
Whiles it is ours. William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing IV i 219-224, Friar to Leanato
Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing. William Shakespeare, Sonnet 87
The possession of all things in common and universal freedom are said to be the natural law because, to wit, the distinction of possessions and slavery were not brought in by nature, but devised by human reason for the benefit of human life. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae ii-ii, 5th article
It is necessary to state once more the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine: the goods of this world are originally meant for all. The right of private property is valid and necessary, but it does not nullify the value of this principle. Private property in fact is under a social function, based upon and justified precisely by the principle of the universal declaration of goods. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, On Social Concern p42
Each man has therefore the right to find in the world what is necessary for himself. Pope Paul VI, On the Progress of Peoples p22, 1967
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:20-24
Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:34-37
As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. II Corinthians 6:10
Possessions are generally diminished by possession. Friedrich Nietzsche
It appears that ordinary men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage, and that ordinary women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without possession. Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Younger, The Letters of the Younger Pliny
The root of suffering is attachment. Buddha, Pali canon
The possession stats at one point were 77% to 33%. Mick Quinn, football commentary