Page:Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages.pdf/36



"For many thousand years, the moon has been celebrated bu the Vietnamese poets as a beautiful paradise. Today we already know that the face of the moon does not correspond to the imagination of ancient poets. The fact, however, that men of the earth finally set foot on the moon marks the beginning of a most beautiful adventure, because it opens broader vistas on our immense universe, and the perspectives on men's accessibility to other worlds.

"This memorable feat should bring to mankind both a sense of pride and humility: pride, because human beings by their intelligence and perseverance are now able to get beyond this earth to which they seemed to be bound; humility, because the quarrels which divide men on the earth look so petty in the context of our vast universe.

"In this historical event, we prayerfully hope that the ingenuity and intelligence which God endows to men will lead toward increasing progress and brotherhood, and the widening of human horizon. We are, therefore, very happy that the first message deposited by the brave American astronauts of Apollo 11 on the moon is a message of peace for all mankind, and from all mankind, in which the Vietnamese people fully concur."

"May this majestic fulfilment of the ancient dream of the human race - man's setting foot on the distant soil of the moon, the first neighbour of us all - bring closer the realization of the humanity's age-long vision to live in peace, brotherhood and joint endeavour."