Quote by Ernest Hemingway
You felt, in spite of all bureaucracy and inefficiency and party strife something that was like the feeling you expected to have and did not have when you made your first communion. It was a feeling of consecration to a duty toward all of the oppressed of the world which would be as difficult and embarrasing to speak about as religious experience and yet it was as authentic as the feeling you had when you heard Bach, or stood in Chartres Cathedral or the Cathedral at León and saw the light coming through the great windows; or when you saw Mantegna and Greco and Brueghel in the Prado. It gave you a part in something that you could believe in wholly and completely and in which you felt an absolute brotherhood with the others who were engaged in it. It was something that you had never known before but that you had experienced now and you gave such importance to it and the reasons for it that you own death seemed of complete unimportance; only a thing to be avoided because it would interfere with the performance of your duty. But the best thing was that there was something you could do about this feeling and this necessity too. You could fight.
Summary
This quote describes a profound and transformative feeling, something akin to a religious experience, that arises from a sense of duty towards the oppressed. It compares this feeling to the awe-inspiring moments of hearing Bach's music or being in the presence of breathtaking art. Engaging in this duty brings a sense of belonging and brotherhood with others who share the same commitment. The quote suggests that this experience is so powerful and meaningful that one's own life becomes insignificant in comparison, only seen as an obstacle that may hinder the performance of this duty. Ultimately, the quote emphasizes the ability to take action and fight for what one believes in.
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