Rapine, avarice, expense, This is idolatry; and these we adore; Plain living and high thinking are no more.
Interpretation
This quote criticizes materialism and emphasizes the value of simple living and meaningful thought.
William Wordsworth reflects on the detrimental effect of greed and excessive spending on the human spirit, suggesting that such priorities are akin to idolatry. He contrasts this with the virtues of plain living and high thinking, implying that true fulfillment comes not from material possessions but from intellectual and spiritual enrichment.
In practice
In a speech about sustainable living, you might use this quote to underline the importance of valuing experiences over possessions.
For mightier far_x000D_ _x000D_ Than strength of nerve or sinew, or the sway_x000D_ _x000D_ Of magic potent over sun and star,_x000D_ _x000D_ Is love, though oft to agony distrest,_x000D_ _x000D_ And though his favourite be feeble woman's breast.
By all means sometimes be alone; salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear; dare to look in thy chest; and tumble up and down what thou findest there.
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,_x000D_ _x000D_ The earth, and every common sight,_x000D_ _x000D_ To me did seem_x000D_ _x000D_ Apparelled in celestial light,_x000D_ _x000D_ The glory and the freshness of a dream.
Books are yours, Within whose silent chambers treasure lies Preserved from age to age; more precious far Than that accumulated store of gold And orient gems, which, for a day of need, The Sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs. These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune.
Shalt show us how divine a thing A woman may be made.
The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.
The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the same side. Probably we could do with a little less talk about' capitalist' and 'proletarian' and a little more about the robbers and the robbed.
Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset; eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.
In Jesus Christ, God took on a human face and became our friend and brother.
A dispassionate white sun shone at the summit of the sky. I wanted to hone myself on it till I grew saintly and thin and essential as the blade of a knife.
Though you break your heart, men will go on as before.
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