Peter Marklund

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Wed May 14 2003 05:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Poem by Hillel

Richard Stallman on the first software-sharing community at MIT and the founding of the GNU project:

Later I heard these words, attributed to Hillel (1):

    If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
    If I am only for myself, what am I?
    If not now, when? 

The decision to start the GNU project was based on a similar spirit. 

To me, the poem signifies self-esteem, unselfishness, and a call for action.