That is all the National Parks are about. Use, but do no harm.
Wallace StegnerRead
wherever you find the greatest good, you will find the greatest evil, because evil loves paradise as much as good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good and evil coexist in the world, with each influencing and reacting to the other.
This quote reflects the idea that within the realms of human experience, good and evil are interlinked. The presence of great goodness often draws out the potential for great wickedness, suggesting that they are two sides of the same coin. It implies a balance in the moral landscape, where the existence of one can illuminate the presence of the other, challenging us to recognize that paradise is not without its shadows.
Themes
GoodEvilBalanceParadiseMoral
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about morality, this quote can illustrate the complexity of human nature.
More from Wallace Stegner
All quotes βTouch. It is touch that is the deadliest enemy of chastity, loyalty, monogamy, gentility with its codes and conventions and restraints. By touch we are betrayed and betray others ... an accidental brushing of shoulders or touching of hands ... hands laid on shoulders in a gesture of comfort that lies like a thief, that takes, not gives, that wants, not offers, that awakes, not pacifies. When one flesh is waiting, there is electricity in the merest contact.
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Hope was always out ahead of fact, possibility obscured the outlines of reality.
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Young writers should be encouraged to write, and discouraged from thinking they are writers.
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I was shaped by the west and have lived most of my life in it, and nothing would gratify me more than to see it in all its subregions and subcultures both prosperous and environmentally healthy, with a civilization to match its scenery.
Wallace StegnerRead
Most things break, including hearts. The lessons of life amount not to wisdom, but to scar tissue and callus.
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