The first-beginnings of things cannot be distinguished by the eye.
Interpretation
Understanding the origins of things often requires deeper insight than mere observation.
This quote by Lucretius highlights the idea that the initial stages or beginnings of entities, ideas, or phenomena are not always apparent or easily recognizable through superficial observation. It suggests that to comprehend the true nature of things, one must look beyond the surface and engage in deeper reflection or inquiry.
In practice
In a presentation about personal growth, one might quote Lucretius to emphasize the value of understanding one's roots.
Huts they made then, and fire, and skins for clothing, And a woman yielded to one man in wedlock... ... Common, to see the offspring they had made; The human race began to mellow then. Because of fire their shivering forms no longer Could bear the cold beneath the covering sky.
No single thing abides; but all things flow. Fragment to fragment clings - the things thus grow Until we know them and name them. By degrees They melt, and are no more the things we know.
What is food to one man is bitter poison to others.
The water hollows out the stone, not by force but drop by drop.
Thus the sum of things is ever being reviewed, and mortals dependent one upon another. Some nations increase, others diminish, and in a short space the generations of living creatures are changed and like runners pass on the torch of life.
Many animals even now spring out of the soil, Coalescing from the rains and the heat of the sun. Small wonder, then, if more and bigger creatures, Full-formed, arose from the new young earth and sky. The breed, for instance, of the dappled birds Shucked off their eggshells in the springtime, as Crickets in summer will slip their slight cocoons All by themselves, and search for food and life. Earth gave you, then, the first of mortal kinds, For all the fields were soaked with warmth and moisture.
His words even imply that philanthropy has deeper depths than is generally realized. The great emotions of compassion and mercy are traced to Him; there is more to human deeds than the doers are aware. He identified every act of kindness as an expression of sympathy with Himself. All kindnesses are either done explicitly or implicitly in His name, or they are refused explicitly or implicitly in His name.
It's alright all of us all living saying 'oh well there's enough of us so we won't have anymore, don't let anybody else live.' I don't believe in that.
It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can always be pretended.
The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through the fire
Christians, in particular, realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith.
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