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I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity an obligation; every
possession a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that the government is the servant of
the people and not their master. I believe is the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man
a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered
living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business, or personal
affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a
promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character --- not wealth or power or position --- is of supreme
worth. I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that the only purifying fire is
the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free. I believe in an all-wise and all-knowing
God, named by whatever name, and that the individual's highest fulfillment. greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are
to be found in living in harmony with His will. I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can
overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (from the inscription beside
his bust at Rockefeller Center)
No living organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of
absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against
its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued
upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone
of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
Jackson, Shirley. 1959. The Haunting of Hill House.
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