Why do we as a people choose to live in beautiful and risky places? Beautiful places are relatively dangerous; the forces that made them beautiful are the same forces that will ultimately destroy them.
Interpretation
We are drawn to beautiful yet perilous locations, which are shaped by the same natural forces that can lead to their destruction.
This quote by Simon Winchester reflects on the paradox of human attraction to stunning landscapes that often come with inherent risks. It suggests that while beauty captivates us, it is also a reminder of nature's unpredictable power, as the geological forces that create breathtaking environments can also lead to their demise. This duality of attraction and danger highlights our complex relationship with the natural world.
In practice
During a speech on environmental conservation, this quote could be used to emphasize the need to protect our beautiful yet vulnerable natural landscapes.
Nature is not evil. The world occasionally shrugs its shoulders, and people get knocked off. The earth, for geological reasons that are well known, is a fairly risky place to live. To be evil, you have to have intent. Any remarkable natural happening in which no human will is employed cannot be regarded as evil.
The most difficult task for anyone wandering through a foreign land with the hope of gaining some insight into it is the profound need to come to terms with the lives and thoughts of strangers.
To country people Cows are mild, And flee from any stick they throw; But I’m a timid town bred child, And all the cattle seem to know.
In pale moonlight / the wisteria's scent / comes from far away.
No daintie flowre or herbe that growes on grownd, No arborett with painted blossoms drest And smelling sweete, but there it might be fownd To bud out faire, and throwe her sweete smels al arownd.
The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation.
But once the ants and termites jumped the high barrier that prevents the vast variety of evolving animal groups from becoming fully social, they dominated the world.
I wanted to know the name of every stone and flower and insect and bird and beast. I wanted to know where it got its color, where it got its life - but there was no one to tell me.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.