The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.
Edmund WallerRead
The chain that's fixed to the throne of Jove, On which the fabric of our world depends, One link dissolved, the whole creation ends.
Interpretation
The quote explores the interconnectedness of existence, suggesting that everything relies on the stability of a single link.
Edmund Waller's quote symbolizes the fragile balance upon which the cosmos rests, indicating that each element within our world is interdependent. Just as a single link in a chain can affect the whole structure, the dissolution of any part of creation could lead to the collapse of the entire universe, emphasizing the importance of harmony and stability in life.
In practice
In a discussion about environmental sustainability, you might use this quote to illustrate how everything in nature is interconnected.
The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.
Could we forbear dispute, and practise love,_x000D_ _x000D_ We should agree as angels do above.
All human things Of dearest value hang on slender strings.
The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made. Stronger by weakness, wiser men become As they draw near to their eternal home: Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view That stand upon the threshold of the new.
Music so softens and disarms the mind That not an arrow does resistance find.
Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain.
Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.
Man never dies, nor is he ever born; bodies die, but he never dies.
A tragic situation exists precisely when virtue does not triumph but when it is still felt that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
What I want is to live of that initial and primordial something that was what made some things reach the point of aspiring to be human.
If you don't take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You're doing too much, you're being too much in charge. You've got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you're not doing anything.
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