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.
Midway upon the journey of our life
Angels and ministers of grace defend us!_x000D_ _x000D_ Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,_x000D_ _x000D_ Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell,_x000D_ _x000D_ Be thy intents wicked, or charitable,_x000D_ _x000D_ Thou com'st in such a questionable shape,_x000D_ _x000D_ That I will speak to thee.
Most believe that a satisfactory future requires a return to an idealized past, a past which never in fact existed.
Today, the degradation of the inner life is symbolized by the fact that the only place sacred from interruption is the private toilet.
If a man could understand all the horror of the lives of ordinary people who are turning around in a circle of insignificant interests and insignificant aims, if he could understand what they are losing, he would understand that there can only be one thing that is serious for him - to escape from the general law, to be free. What can be serious for a man in prison who is condemned to death? Only one thing: How to save himself, how to escape: nothing else is serious.
It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
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