Nothing human is alien to me

While replying to someone regarding Human Rights and an approach based on it and their effort to see/show how that whole endeavour is not different from a genuine understanding of spirituality (for us, Gospel values), I was reminded of one of Fr Maliekal's "sayings": Nothing human is alien to Christianity.

Trying to see whose quote was that, I came across the fact that the original is slightly different one... and one with a powerful story as well.  The original quote is in Latin and attributed to Terence, a famous playwright who lived in 170 BC.

A Roman senator by name Terentius Lucanus once brought (bought?) Terence to Rome as a slave.  He educated him and on finding his amazing talents and capabilities, set him free.  Terence making the most of the progressive Roman civilization and enjoying his freedom, became a playwright.  The above Latin quote is one of his sayings.  It means

I am a man; I consider nothing that is human alien to me. 

Considering the fact that he was a slave and one who could have ended up in an iron collar all his life or on a lion's platter, could go on to make a life for himself and that too to take life in his stride.  No ill will, no inequality, no 'backlogs'.  To be able to see and appreciate humanity in and through the multitude of dividing factors of socio-politico-religious life.