I saw within Its depth how It conceives_x000D_ _x000D_ All things in a single volume bound by Love_x000D_ _x000D_ of which the universe is the scattered leaves.
Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that one should look up and appreciate the beauty and possibilities of life rather than being fixated on mundane concerns.
Dante Alighieri's quote reflects the idea that many people are often preoccupied with earthly troubles and distractions, failing to recognize the greater beauty and opportunities that life offers. 'Heaven wheels above you' symbolizes the ever-present potential for greatness and inspiration, while 'your eyes are on the ground' highlights how we can become trapped in our immediate concerns, missing the larger, uplifting picture that life presents.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming adversity, I would use this quote to encourage people to look for the silver lining in their struggles.
More from Dante Alighieri
All quotes βBefore me things created were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
The customs and fashions of men change like leaves on the bough, some of which go and others come.
Pride, envy, avarice - these are the sparks have set on fire the hearts of all men.
Thus you may understand that love alone is the true seed of every merit in you, and of all acts for which you must atone.
To get back up to the shining world from there My guide and I went into that hidden tunnel, And Following its path, we took no care To rest, but climbed: he first, then I-so far, through a round aperture I saw appear Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears, Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars.
Similar quotes
In the past, it was possible to destroy a village, a town, a region, even a country. Now it is the whole planet that has come under threat. This fact should compel everyone to face a basic moral consideration; from now on, it is only through a conscious choice and then deliberate policy that humanity will survive.
Some stories, sheβd say, the more you tell them, the faster you use them up. Those kind, the drama burns off, and every version, they sound more silly and flat. The other kind of story, it uses you up. The more you tell it, the stronger it gets. Those kind of stories only remind you how stupid you were. Are. Will always be.
It takes no effort to love. The state has its own innate joy. Questions answer themselves if you are aware enough. Life is safe; flowing with the current of being is the simplest way to live. Resistance never really succeeds. Controlling the flow of life is impossible.
Cinna wishes to seem poor, and is poor
Easy, simple and great laws, which await nothing but a sign from the lawgiver to spread prosperity and vigour throughout the nation, laws which would earn him immortal hymns of gratitude down the generations, are those which are least considered or least wanted.
The psychic depths are nature, and nature is creative life.