No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thomas BrowneRead
All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God.
Interpretation
Everything created by humans is influenced by nature, which is ultimately designed by a divine power.
This quote by Thomas Browne suggests that all human creations are, in a sense, artificial because they derive from the natural world, which itself is viewed as the ultimate form of art created by God. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of nature and human ingenuity, positing that our artificial constructs are merely imitations of the profound beauty and complexity found in nature, which reflects a divine artistry.
In practice
In a class discussion on the relationship between nature and creativity.
No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Content may dwell in all stations. To be low but above contempt may be high enough to be happy.
Thus there are two books from whence I collect my Divinity; besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature, that universal and public Manuscript, that lies expans'd unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the one, have discovered him in the other.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
The club that kills can drive a stake into the ground to hold a shelter. The hands that build bombs can be used to build schools. The minds that coordinate the activities of violence can coordinate the activities of cooperation. When the activities of life are infused with reverence, they come alive with meaning and purpose.
In a society where the rights and potential of women are constrained, no man can be truly free. He may have power, but he will not have freedom.
What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call 'thought'.
Every reign must submit to a greater reign.
Thus to share in the sufferings of Christ is, at the same time, to suffer for the kingdom of God. In the eyes of the just God, before his judgment. Those who share in the sufferings of Christ become worthy of this kingdom.
I can't count the times that upon telling someone I am vegetarian, he or she responded by pointing out an inconsistency in my lifestyle or trying to find a flaw in an argument I never made. (I have often felt that my vegetarianism matters more to such people than it does to me.)
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