A dream has power to poison sleep.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
The moon of Mahomet Arose, and it shall set; While, blazoned as on heaven's immortal noon, The cross leads generations on.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the cyclical nature of life and the enduring influence of faith.
Percy Bysshe Shelley's quote speaks to the rise and fall of great figures and ideas, symbolized by the moon and the cross. It suggests that while some beliefs may shine brightly for a time, they are not eternal, yet they continue to guide future generations, just as the cross serves as a lasting symbol of faith amidst the transient nature of other beliefs.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the impact of historical figures on modern values.
A dream has power to poison sleep.
Senseless is the breast and cold _x000D_ _x000D_ Which relenting love would fold;_x000D_ _x000D_ Bloodless are the veins and chill _x000D_ _x000D_ Which the pulse of pain did fill; _x000D_ _x000D_ Every little living nerve _x000D_ _x000D_ That from bitter words did swerve _x000D_ _x000D_ Round the tortur'd lips and brow, _x000D_ _x000D_ Are like sapless leaflets now _x000D_ _x000D_ Frozen upon December's bough.
A sensitive plant in a garden grew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And the young winds fed it with silver dew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And it opened its fan_x000D_ _x000D_ like leaves to the light,_x000D_ _x000D_ and closed them beneath the kisses of night.
I am the daughter of Earth and Water, And the nursling of the Sky; I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; I change, but I cannot die. For after the rain when with never a stain The pavilion of Heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams Build up the blue dome of air, I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again.
O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Ah, woe is me! Winter is come and gone. But grief returns with the revolving year.
Not everybody is comfortable with the idea that politics is a guilty addiction. But it is.
Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free to commit the same deed over and over again, and may, indeed, win him the honors of a hero in the country of his victims.
The human body is always treated as an image of society.
Every man has his folly, but the greatest folly of all β¦ is not to have one.
The world can therefore seize the opportunity (the Persian Gulf crisis) to fulfill the long held promise of a New World Order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind.
My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.
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