Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
I came out for exercise, gentle exercise, and to notice the scenery and to botanise. And no sooner do I get on that accursed machine than off I go hammer and tongs; I never look to right or left, never notice a flower, never see a view - get hot, juicy, red - like a grilled chop. Get me on that machine and I have to go. I go scorching along the road, and cursing aloud at myself for doing it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle between the desire for leisurely enjoyment of nature and the compulsive drive for speed and productivity.
H. G. Wells captures a common human experience where the intention to engage in a peaceful, nature-infused activity is undermined by the distractions of modern life and our own internal pressures. The imagery of riding a machine highlights how we often become so consumed by goals and tasks that we neglect to appreciate the beauty around us, ultimately leading to frustration as we miss the simple pleasures nature offers.
Themes
ExerciseNatureBeautySceneryMachineProductivity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a nature walk to remind participants to slow down and appreciate their surroundings.
More from H. G. Wells
All quotes →He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
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It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
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Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
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But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
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The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
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