Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe.

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Source: Loving Your Enemies (1957)

About this quote

In Loving Your Enemies (1957), King uses a direct appeal to responsibility to examine love, with attention to somebody, sense, enough. The practical center is the relationship between ethics and chain and universe, giving readers a specific lens for judgment and action.

When to use it

  • A community organizer builds a meeting around somebody before participants choose one measurable action related to love.
  • A teacher pairs the passage from Loving Your Enemies (1957) with a primary-source exercise about ethics and public responsibility.
  • A team leader uses the tension between sense and universe to discuss conduct under pressure.