The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
William O. DouglasRead
Men need to know the elemental challenges that sea and mountains present. They need to know what it is to be alive and to survive when great storms come. They need to unlock the secrets of streams, lakes, and canyons and to find how these treasures are veritable storehouses of inspiration. They must experience the sense of mastery of adversity. They must find a peak or a ridge that they can reach under their own power alone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the challenges posed by nature and the personal growth that comes from overcoming adversity.
William O. Douglas highlights the essential life lessons found in nature's challenges, such as the sea and mountains. He suggests that men must confront and embrace these elemental struggles to truly understand life, survival, and the inspiration they offer. Engaging with nature provides a sense of mastery over difficulties, wherein one learns resilience and acquires deep insights that contribute to personal growth and fulfillment.
Themes
NatureAdversitySurvivalMasteryInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech, one could use this quote to stress the importance of facing challenges head-on.
More from William O. Douglas
All quotes →One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment.
William O. DouglasRead
The great and invigorating influences in American life have been the unorthodox: the people who challenge an existing institution or way of life, or say and do things that make people think.
William O. DouglasRead
I have the same confidence in the ability of our people to reject noxious literature as I have in their capacity to sort out the true from the false in theology, economics, or any other field.
William O. DouglasRead
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.
William O. DouglasRead
The truth is that a vast restructuring of our society is needed if remedies are to become available to the average person. Without that restructuring the good will that holds society together will be slowly dissipated... It is that sense of futility which permeates the present series of protests and dissents. Where there is a persistent sense of futility, there is violence; and that is where we are today.
William O. DouglasRead
Similar quotes
"What's miraculous about a spider's web?" said Mrs. Arable. "I don't see why you say a web is a miracle--it's just a web."_x000D_ _x000D_ "Ever try to spin one?" asked Mr. Dorian.
E. B. WhiteRead
The simple fact is that the world is not paying for the services the forests provide. At the moment, they are worth more dead than alive-for soya, for beef, for palm oil and for logging, feeding the demand from other countries. ... I think we need to be clear that the drivers of rainforest destruction do not originate in the rainforest nations, but in the more developed countries which, unwittingly or not, have caused climate change.
Prince CharlesRead
When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold, Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold; When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best!
J. R. R. TolkienRead
I think people had somehow gotten the sense that we have explored everything, when that isn't the case. We so know so little about the ocean, and so much of it is being destroyed.
James CameronRead
I often visited a particular plant four or five miles distant, half a dozen times within a fortnight, that I might know exactly when it opened.
Henry David ThoreauRead
For the sake of our health, our children and grandchildren and even our economic well-being, we must make protecting the planet our top priority.
David SuzukiRead