It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.
William Ellery ChanningRead
The mind, in proportion as it is cut off from free communication with nature, with revelation, with God, with itself, loses its life, just as the body droops when debarred from the air and the cheering light from heaven.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The mind needs connection to nature, spirituality, and self-awareness to thrive.
William Ellery Channing's quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining a connection between the mind and various sources of nourishment, such as nature, divine revelation, and self-reflection. Just as the body requires fresh air and light to remain healthy, the mind too suffers when it is isolated from these vital elements, leading to a diminished sense of purpose and vitality.
Themes
MindNatureCommunicationSpiritualitySelf-Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire a nature-themed retreat for mental wellness.
More from William Ellery Channing
All quotes →No power in society, no hardship in your condition can depress you, keep you down, in knowledge, power, virtue, influence, but by your own consent.
William Ellery ChanningRead
I laugh, for hope hath a happy place with me; If my boat sinks, 'tis to another sea.
William Ellery ChanningRead
We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure.
William Ellery ChanningRead
Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge, and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance.
William Ellery ChanningRead
He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled.
William Ellery ChanningRead
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