Nature is a tropical swamp in sunshine, on whose purlieus we hear the song of summer birds, and see prismatic dewdrops, - but her interiors are terrific, full of hydras and crocodiles.
Interpretation
Nature can be simultaneously beautiful and dangerous, presenting both delight and peril.
In this quote, Ralph Waldo Emerson contrasts the enchanting aspects of nature, such as the beauty of summer birds and dewdrops, with the hidden dangers that lie within it, like hydras and crocodiles. This duality reflects the complexity of nature, showcasing how it can inspire awe and joy while also harboring threats, reminding us to appreciate both the wonders and the risks that the natural world presents.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech on environmental awareness to highlight the dual nature of ecosystems.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the_x000D_ _x000D_ breaking of new blooms.
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.
Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.
Then suddenly the Mole felt a great Awe fall upon him, an awe that turned his muscles to water, bowed his head, and rooted his feet to the ground. It was no panic terror - indeed he felt wonderfully at peace and happy - but it was an awe that smote and held him and, without seeing, he knew it could only mean that some august presence was very, very near.
The ocean is an object of no small terror.
Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.
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