I looked back at the summit of the mountain, which seemed but a cubit high in comparison with the height of human contemplation, were in not too often merged in the corruptions of the earth.
Interpretation
Human contemplation transcends earthly troubles and corruption.
In this quote, Petrarch reflects on the vast difference between the heights of human thought and the smallness of earthly troubles. He suggests that while we may be preoccupied with worldly concerns, the capacity for human contemplation allows us to rise above such corruptions, gaining a broader perspective on life and existence.
In practice
During a speech on the importance of mindfulness, one might reference this quote to emphasize the power of human thought.
Gold, silver, jewels, purple garments, houses built of marble, groomed estates, pious paintings, caparisoned steeds, and other things of this kind offer a mutable and superficial pleasure; books give delight to the very marrow of one's bones. They speak to us, consult with us, and join with us in a living and intense intimacy.
Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.
Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.
To begin with myself, then, the utterances of men concerning me will differ widely, since in passing judgment almost every one is influenced not so much by truth as by preference, and good and evil report alike know no bounds.
True, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness.
Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.
A god implants in mortal guilt whenever he wants utterly to confound a house.
In the liberal remake of 'Casablanca,' the police captain comes upon the scene of the shooting and orders his men to 'round up the usual weapons.' It's always the weapon and never the shooter.
A man may acquire a taste for wine or brandy, and so lose his love for water, but should we not pity him.
Even the holy men who lived before the coming of Christ understood that God had in mind plans of peace for the human race.
None believes in his own death. In the unconscious everyone is convinced of his own immortality.
My primary process of perceiving is muscular and visual.
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