Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me
Interpretation
The quote expresses a preference for solitude in nature over socializing indoors.
William Hazlitt articulates a sentiment that prioritizes the beauty and companionship found in nature over the company of others. He suggests that while he can appreciate social interactions within the confines of a room, the tranquility and richness of the natural world are sufficient for his fulfillment and enjoyment, signifying a deeper connection with the environment.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about environmental appreciation.
Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
I don't care two hoots about civilization. I want to wander in the wild.
I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.
The earth is rocky and full of roots; it's clay, and it seems doomed and polluted, but you dig little holes for the ugly shriveled bulbs, throw in a handful of poppy seeds, and cover it all over, and you know you'll never see it again - it's death and clay and shrivel, and your hands are nicked from the rocks, your nails black with soil.
Agriculture changes the landscape more than anything else we do. It alters the composition of species. We don't realize it when we sit down to eat, but that is our most profound engagement with the rest of nature.
On the mainland, a rain was falling. The famous Seattle rain. The thin, gray rain that toadstools love. The persistent rain that knows every hidden entrance into collar and shopping bag. The quiet rain that can rust a tin roof without the tin roof making a sound in protest. The shamanic rain that feeds the imagination. The rain that seems actually a secret language, whispering, like the ecstasy of primitives, of the essence of things.
You can make a lot of speeches, but the real thing is when you dig a hole, plant a tree, give it water, and make it survive. That's what makes the difference
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