Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.
Interpretation
Nature encourages independence rather than wealth or poverty.
This quote emphasizes that nature does not impose conditions of wealth or poverty on individuals, but rather advocates for independence. It suggests that true fulfillment comes not from material riches, but from the ability to stand on one's own and make choices freely within the natural world.
In practice
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'Remember, nature never said to be rich; it urges us to be independent.'
Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.
It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.
There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
In living and in seeing other men, the heart must break or become as bronze.
And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead (suicide note)
With no mind, flowers lure the butterfly; With no mind, the butterfly visits the blossoms. Yet when flowers bloom, the butterfly comes; When the butterfly comes, the flowers bloom.
It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it has pulled it on, the way you pull on a sweater. Next to the train line, footprints were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice. As you may expect, someone has died.
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being. Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.
The Animals of the planet are in desperate peril and they are fully aware of this. No less than human beings are doing in all parts of the world, they are seeking sanctuary.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them
We have a responsibility to protect the rights of generations, of all species, that cannot speak for themselves today. The global challenge of climate change requires that we ask no less of our leaders, or ourselves.
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