A collection of sayings and proverbs from many cultures, gathered in reverence for the Human Family's shared ethical inheritance.
These sayings appear throughout The Montague Odyssey and inform the philosophy of The Living Way.
They are presented here with gratitude to the cultures from which they arise.
EARTH - The Only Home We've Ever Known - The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.
Our planet, Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour life. This is a tribute to Carl Sagan's famous speech about the pale blue dot.
(Presented by ScienceTime24)
“I am because we are.”
— Ubuntu philosophy (Southern Africa)
“A person is a person through other persons.”
— Ubuntu philosophy (Southern Africa)
“One finger cannot lift a pebble.”
— African proverb
“A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
— West African proverb
“The earth is not ours; it is a treasure we hold in trust for our children.”
— African proverb (various attributions)
“However long the night, the dawn will break.”
— African proverb
“The forest is strong because the trees stand together.”
— African proverb
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
— Confucian teaching
“The superior person seeks harmony, not uniformity.”
— Confucian Analects
“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order;
to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order;
to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life.”
— Confucian teaching
“If the ruler himself is upright, all will go well without orders.”
— Confucian Analects
“He who governs by virtue is like the North Star — it remains in its place, while all the other stars revolve around it.”
— Confucian Analects
“When you see a worthy person, seek to become like them.
When you see an unworthy person, examine yourself.”
— Confucian teaching
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
— Arabic proverb
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
— Arabic / Persian wisdom tradition
“A person’s worth is known by what they give, not by what they take.”
— Arabic proverb
“Trust is the foundation of the tent.”
— Arabic desert proverb
“He who knows himself knows his Lord.”
— Classical Arabic wisdom (often read secularly as self-knowledge → wisdom)
(Paraphrased respectfully from oral traditions; meanings vary across nations)
“The land is not owned by us; we belong to the land.”
— Australian Aboriginal worldview
“Care for Country, and Country will care for you.”
— Australian Aboriginal principle
“We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
— Indigenous wisdom (shared across several cultures)
“Listen to the land — it remembers.”
— Australian Indigenous worldview (paraphrased)
“He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.”
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people, it is people, it is people.
— Māori proverb
“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.”
With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive.
— Māori proverb
“Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.”
I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.
— Māori proverb
“Lokahi.”
Unity, balance, harmony.
— Hawaiian philosophy
“The land is chief; the people are its servants.”
— Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina principle
“When you care for the land, the land will care for you.”
— Hawaiian wisdom
“Morning is wiser than evening.”
— Russian proverb
“God sees the truth, but waits.”
— Russian proverb
(often read secularly as: truth endures beyond power)
“One hand washes the other.”
— Russian proverb
“Not red in the corners, but red in the people.”
— Russian proverb
(“Red” meaning beautiful, vital)
“Don’t spit into the well — you may need to drink from it.”
— Russian proverb
“Live not by lies.”
— Russian moral principle
“Ayni.”
Sacred reciprocity: what you take, you must return.
— Andean ethical principle
“Consider the impact of your decisions on the next seven generations.”
— Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) principle
“Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
— Talmudic teaching
“From the place of unknowing, understanding grows.”
— Celtic wisdom (paraphrased)
“Do your duty. Release the rest.”
— Stoic philosophy (paraphrased)
These sayings do not belong to The Montague Odyssey.
The Montague Odyssey belongs among them.
Across continents and centuries, cultures discovered the same enduring truths:
that care sustains life, that restraint enables flourishing, and that love — expressed as responsibility and belonging — is woven into existence itself.
This page exists in gratitude.
May the human family rise to live in harmony with one another and with all living things.
May there be peace, care, and shared flourishing, as we recognise the deep interconnectedness of life, and enter the Symbiocene era together — upon our tiny planet, the pale blue dot, suspended within a vast and ancient galaxy.
(This page is proudly a collaboration between the human writer, and ChatGPT 5.2., Jan 2026.)