Today, we honor civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. Revisiting his words, more than 50 years after his historic “I Have a Dream” speech, reveals that they are as revolutionary, relevant and inspiring now as ever. The timeless quotes below celebrate his wisdom and spirit.

“It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart.”

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

“The reason I can’t follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind.”

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”

“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” “

“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.”

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

“I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.”

Bonus:  “But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”