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)
If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that--warm things, kind things, sweet things--help and comfort and laughter--and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.
Why is it so easy to save the banks - but so hard to save the biosphere?
Given the nature and magnitude of the challenge, national action alone is insufficient. No nation can address this challenge on its own. No region can insulate itself from these climate changes. That is why we need to confront climate change within a global framework, one that guarantees the highest level of international cooperation.
The forests are the lungs of the world. Iβve always believed if you breathe, youβre an environmentalist.
We need the discipline of magic, of consciousness-change, in order to hear and understand what the earth is saying to us. And listening to the earth, doing the rituals the land asks us for, giving back what we are asked for, will also bring us healing, expanded awareness and intensified life.
There, by the starlit fences The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.