The child is father of the man: And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.
Interpretation
Children shape who we become as adults, and there's a yearning for a life interconnected by a sense of respect and duty.
This quote by William Wordsworth suggests that the experiences and qualities of childhood fundamentally influence our adult selves. It also reflects a desire for a life where each moment and each relationship is tied together by an inherent respect and reverence for life's natural cycle.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of childhood experiences in shaping adult behavior.
For mightier far_x000D_ _x000D_ Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway_x000D_ _x000D_ Of magic potent over sun and star,_x000D_ _x000D_ Is love, though oft to agony distrest,_x000D_ _x000D_ And though his favourite be feeble woman's breast.
By all means sometimes be alone; salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear; dare to look in thy chest; and tumble up and down what thou findest there.
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,_x000D_ _x000D_ The earth, and every common sight,_x000D_ _x000D_ To me did seem_x000D_ _x000D_ Apparelled in celestial light,_x000D_ _x000D_ The glory and the freshness of a dream.
Books are yours, Within whose silent chambers treasure lies Preserved from age to age; more precious far Than that accumulated store of gold And orient gems, which, for a day of need, The Sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs. These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune.
Shalt show us how divine a thing A woman may be made.
I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.
The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.
Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them.
All animals are to be found in men and each of theme exists in some man, sometimes several at the time.
There's a terror in knowing what the world is about
The only thing that really matters is that there be an action of goodness, love and intelligence in living. Is goodness individual or collective, is love personal or impersonal, is intelligence yours, mine or somebody else? If it is yours or mine then it is not intelligence, or love, or goodness. If goodness is an affair of the individual or of the collective, according to one's particular preference or decision, then it is no longer goodness.
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