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?
I believe in a set of values I cannot live by. I set high goals for myself, I seek perfection, dream of exotic faraway places. But ultimately, what I long for isn't far away at all. It's in my own backyard. Imperfection charms me, familiar things move me... a celebration of what we have, instead of what we long for. That for me, is glamor.
It was all very well going on about pure logic and how the universe was ruled by logic and the harmony of numbers, but the plain fact of the matter was that the Disc was manifestly traversing space on the back of a giant turtle and the gods had a habit of going round to atheists' houses and smashing their windows.
A plongeur is a slave, and a wasted slave, doing stupid and largely unnecessary work. He is kept at work, ultimately, because of a vague feeling that he would be dangerous if he had leisure. And educated people, who should be on his side, acquiesce in the process, because they know nothing about him and consequently are afraid of him.
For every nation that lives peaceably, there will be many others to grow hard and push their arrogance to extremes; the gods attend to these things slowly. But they attend to those who put off God and turn to madness.
People don't like to make mistakes.
I was escaping from Nature and at last becoming myself, that Other whom I was aspiring to be in the eyes of others.
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