In traditional societies, nature was seen as one’s wife, but the modern West turned it into a prostitute.
Seyyed Hossein NasrRead
The traditional doctrine of man and not the measurement of skulls and footprints is the key for the understanding of that anthropos who, despite the rebellion of Promethean man against Heaven from the period of Renaissance and its aftermath, is still the inner man of every man, the reality which no human being can deny wherever and whenever he lives, the imprint of a theomorphic nature which no historical change and transformation can erase completely from the face of that creature called man.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding human nature beyond physical measurements or historical changes.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr argues that to comprehend humanity, one must look beyond superficial traits and historical context. Despite the rebellion of man against divine influence, there exists an inherent 'inner man' that reflects a divine essence, a fundamental aspect of human nature that persists through time and societal transformations.
In practice
In a seminar about human nature and philosophy, this quote could illustrate the depths of our existence beyond physical attributes.
In traditional societies, nature was seen as one’s wife, but the modern West turned it into a prostitute.
In the traditional Islamic world, the hierarchy of the arts was not based on whether they were "fine" or "industrial" or "minor". It was based upon the effect of art on the soul of the human being.
The human soul, provided it is pure and strong enough, can contact the unseen in waking life as well as in dreams: all that is required is withdrawal of the soul from the tumult of sensory life.
Tis not where we lie but whence we fell; the loss of Heaven's the greatest pain in Hell.
These are the things which might conceivably and truly make men forgive their enemies. We can only turn hate to love by understanding what are the things that men have loved; nor is it necessary to ask men to hate their loves in order to love one another. Just as two grocers are most likely to be reconciled when they remember for a moment that they are two fathers, so two nationals are most likely to be reconciled when they remember (if only for a moment) that they are two patriots.
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
According to the estimate of a prominent advertising firm, above 90 per cent, of the earning capacity of the prominent nostrums is represented by their advertising. And all this advertising is based on the well-proven theory of the public's pitiable ignorance and gullibility in the vitally important matter of health.
Where every man in a state has a vote, brutal laws are impossible.
If you tell people you talk to God, they'll think you're religious, but if you say God talks to you, it's ten to one they'll think you're crazy.
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