Truth and beauty are often the result of two diverse things coming together. When light shines through droplets of water, it is fractured into diverse wavelengths and a wide spectrum of color. But pure light is all colors. In the same manner, opposites are part of one phenomenon. Without darkness, we would not understand light. Weakness and strength define each other within the body. When we are ill, we know what it means to be weak. When we are healthy, we know what it means to be strong. When I graft a new shoot onto an old plant, I create a new plant. If I mix black and white, I create a new color, a new possibility. A painter has only three primary pigments on his palette, but the possibilities to create new colors by mixing them are limitless. It is the same with people. If we meld our minds and our creativity, the possibility for problem-solving is limitless. The source of creativity, the combination of thought, is endless.
—Surak, the Thread of IDIC
A peaceful philosopher, the father of Vulcan logical thought — a tall, smooth-faced Vulcan with calm dark eyes, typical bangs, and wearing a tunic of scallop-shell pattern. He lived during the last of the great devastating wars on Vulcan, when, during their suffering, one side found emissaries to go to the other side and mediate for peace. Ultimately, logic prevailed, largely due to Surak’s efforts and philosophies. Surak strongly holds that his abhorrence of violence helps him speak effectively to violent antagonists and achieve peace.
—Bjo Trimble, Star Trek Concordance, p.233