Water is to me, I confess, a phenomenon which continually awakens new feelings of wonder as often as I view it.
Interpretation
Water inspires a sense of wonder and curiosity every time it is observed.
In this quote, Michael Faraday expresses his deep appreciation for water, highlighting how its beauty and complexity evoke a renewed sense of awe within him each time he encounters it. This perspective reflects the notion that natural phenomena, like water, can continually inspire us and provoke thought, emphasizing a connection between observation and emotional response.
In practice
During a nature documentary screening, this quote could emphasize the beauty of aquatic ecosystems.
I think chemistry is being frittered away by the hairsplitting of the organic chemists; we have new compounds discovered, which scarcely differ from the known ones and when discovered are valueless-very illustrations perhaps of their refinements in analysis, but very little aiding the progress of true science.
I am no poet, but if you think for yourselves, as I proceed, the facts will form a poem in your minds.
It is on record that when a young aspirant asked Faraday the secret of his success as a scientific investigator, he replied, 'The secret is comprised in three words- Work, Finish, Publish.'
When I consider the multitude of associated forces which are diffused through nature - when I think of that calm balancing of their energies which enables those most powerful in themselves, most destructive to the world's creatures and economy, to dwell associated together and be made subservient to the wants of creation, I rise from the contemplation more than ever impressed with the wisdom, the beneficence, and grandeur, beyond our language to express, of the Great Disposer of us all.
It is right that we should stand by and act on our principles; but not right to hold them in obstinate blindness, or retain them when proved to be erroneous.
Chemistry is necessarily an experimental science: its conclusions are drawn from data, and its principles supported by evidence from facts.
A less icy Arctic is coming, and generally speaking, that's not a good thing. Climate change is warming this region twice as fast as the global average, threatening wildlife and indigenous communities.
The vocation of being a 'protector' [. . .] means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us [. . .] In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of Godβs gifts!
I have always felt that the best gardens aspired to coppice and that the best woods have all the elements of the very best gardens.
As I'm traveling around, I meet many small children. And when I look at a small and think how we've harmed this beautiful planet since I was that age, I feel a kind of desperation, anger, shame. I don't know what I feel; I just don't know what the emotion is.
Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness'.
. . . perhaps our grandsons, having never seen a wild river, will never miss the chance to set a canoe in singing waters . . . glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in.
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