If in the least particular, one could derange the order of nature, who would accept the gift of life?
Interpretation
The quote questions the value of life if the natural order is disrupted, highlighting the importance of nature's balance.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote reflects a deep philosophical inquiry into the relationship between life and the natural order. It suggests that life is a precious gift that depends on the harmony and integrity of the natural world; if even the smallest aspect of nature were to be thrown into chaos, the fundamental reason for living would be challenged. Essentially, it provokes thought about the interconnectedness of existence and the importance of respecting and preserving the natural order.
In practice
In a speech about environmental conservation, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of respecting natural laws.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Science never cheered up anyone. The truth about the human situation is just too awful.
Life without Liberty is like a body without spirit. Liberty without thought is like a disturbed spirit.
Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this, it is impossible to be warned.
I've always been an ironic dreamer, unfaithful to my inner promises. Like a complete outsider, a casual observer of whom I thought I was, I've always enjoyed watching my daydreams go down in defeat. I was never convinced of what I believed in. I filled my hands with sand, called it gold, and opened them up to let it slide through. Words were my only truth. When the right words were said, all was done; the rest was the sand that had always been.
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.
Change of state is not the point; recognizing the Changeless is the point, recognizing primordial Emptiness is the point, and if you are breathing and vaguely awake, that state of consciousness will do just fine.
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