Could we forbear dispute, and practise love,_x000D_ _x000D_ We should agree as angels do above.
Edmund WallerRead
The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea of simplicity and humility in contrast to ambition and pride.
Edmund Waller's quote illustrates the tension between the desire for greatness and the value of leading a modest life. The lark, a bird known for its beautiful song, chooses to build its nest in a humble location rather than on lofty branches, symbolizing how true contentment and peace can often be found in simplicity rather than ambition or ostentation.
In practice
During a speech on personal values, one might invoke this quote to emphasize the importance of living simply and appreciating what we have.
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 chain that's fixed to the throne of Jove, On which the fabric of our world depends, One link dissolved, the whole creation ends.
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.
In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.
The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping.
What is a country without rabbits and partridges? They are among the most simple and indigenous animal products; ancient and venerable families known to antiquity as to modern times; of the very hue and substance of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground.
Nothing is really small; whoever is open to the deep penetration of nature knows this.
A few feathery flakes are scattered widely through the air, and hover downward with uncertain flight, now almost alighting on the earth, now whirled again aloft into remote regions of the atmosphere.
It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination
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