Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival.
Rene DubosRead
The wooing of the Earth thus implies much more than converting the wilderness into humanized environments. It means also preserving natural environments in which to experience mysteries transcending daily life and from which to recapture, in a Proustian kind of remembrance, the awareness of the cosmic forces that have shaped humankind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of balancing human development with the preservation of natural environments.
Rene Dubos highlights that the relationship between humanity and the Earth is not just about taming nature for our needs but also about safeguarding natural spaces that allow us to connect with the deeper mysteries of existence. This connection enriches our lives and helps us recognize the cosmic forces that have influenced our development as a species.
Themes
NaturePreservationMysteriesHuman DevelopmentCosmic Forces
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about environmental conservation.
More from Rene Dubos
All quotes →There is a demon in technology. It was put there by man and man will have to exorcise it before technological civilization can achieve the eighteenth-century ideal of humane civilized life.
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Men are naturally most impressed by diseases which have obvious manifestations, yet some of their worst enemies creep on them unobtrusively.
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Nature always strikes back. It takes all the running we can do to remain in the same place.
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