Speech to the UN Security Council in Africa Hall, Addis Ababa, 28 January 1972, Security Council official records, S/PV,1627. Multiple sources misattribute the quote to a separate speech Selassie made to the UN on 4 October 1963.
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Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
— Haile Selassie
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph." in the context of "Speech to the UN Security Council in Africa Hall, Addis Ababa, 28 January 1972, Security Council official records, S/PV,1627. Multiple sources misattribute the quote to a separate speech Selassie made to the UN on 4 October 1963." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Haile Selassie" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie Ge'ez: ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ, romanized: qädamawi haylä səllasé (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was regent of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, including 5 years of exile from 1936 to 1941 in the period of Italian occupation. Though himself a life-long Christian, and a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, an Oriental Orthodox Church, he became revered as God incarnate by followers of the Rastafari movement founded in Jamaica in the early 1930s. He was overthrown by a Communist coup d'état in 1974.
About Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie Ge'ez: ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ, romanized: qädamawi haylä səllasé (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was regent of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, including 5 years of exile from 1936 to 1941 in the period of Italian occupation. Though himself a life-long Christian, and a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, an Oriental Orthodox Church, he became revered as God incarnate by followers of the Rastafari movement founded in Jamaica in the early 1930s. He was overthrown by a Communist coup d'état in 1974.
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