Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness Only

From the sermon "Loving Your Enemies" in Strength to Love (1963), a collection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons published by Harper & Row. The full passage reads: "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." The sermon argued that Jesus's commandment to love one's enemies was not naive sentiment but a moral and strategic necessity in the face of violence.