To be what you want to be: isn't this the essence of being human? David Zindell
Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being. Albert Camus
The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection. George Orwell
Propaganda is not French, it is not civilized to want other people to believe what you believe because the essence of being civilised is to possess yourself as you are, and if you possess yourself as you are you of course cannot possess any one else, it is not your business. Gertrude Stein
A crisis is taking place in the contemporary world in a variety of forms, cutting across the realms of culture, ethics, politics, and so forth. At the ground of these problems is the fact that the essence of being human has turned into a question mark for humanity itself. Keiji Nishitani
I thought-To lose all this forever? And I hallucinated Aenea's voice saying To lose all this forever is the essence of being human, my love. Dan Simmons