There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Religion, as distinguished from modern paganism, implies a life in conformity with nature. It may be observed that the natural life and the supernatural life have a conformity to each other which neither has with the mechanistic life...A wrong attitude towards nature implies, somewhere, a wrong attitude towards God...[We should] struggle to recover the sense of relation to nature and to God.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the connection between nature and spirituality, suggesting that a wrong view of nature reflects a wrong view of God.
T. S. Eliot's quote suggests that genuine religion is intrinsically linked to the natural world, contrasting it with the mechanistic view of life. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing the interconnectedness of our relationship with nature and our spiritual beliefs, implying that neglecting nature can lead to spiritual disconnection. The call to recover this sense indicates a deeper need for harmony with both nature and the divine.
Themes
ReligionNatureSpiritualityAttitudeConformity
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the importance of preserving the environment, a speaker might include this quote to emphasize the spiritual significance of nature.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
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I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
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If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
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For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
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In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
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