In every human Beast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom; it is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance.
Phillis WheatleyRead
Aurora hail, and all the thousand dies,_x000D_ Which deck thy progress through the vaulted skies:_x000D_ The morn awakes, and wide extends her rays,_x000D_ On ev'ry leaf the gentle zephyr plays;_x000D_ Harmonious lays the feather'd race resume,_x000D_ Dart the bright eye, and shake the painted plume.
Interpretation
This quote celebrates the beauty of nature and the awakening of life with the morning light.
Phillis Wheatley's quote paints a vivid picture of the morning, where nature comes alive with vibrant colors and sounds. She personifies the morning as a powerful force that brings illumination to the world, as every leaf dances in the gentle breeze and birds resume their melodious songs. This depiction illustrates the harmonious relationship between life and nature, suggesting that each day offers a renewed sense of beauty and vigor.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of appreciating the natural world.
As long as we relate to the trees, the rivers, the mountains, the fields and the oceans as properties which we can manipulate according to our real or fabricated needs, nature remains opaque, and does not reveal to us its true being.
Tree It is foolish to let a young redwood grow next to a house. Even in this one lifetime, you will have to choose. That great calm being, this clutter of soup pots and books-- Already the first branch-tips brush at the window. Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.
When some portion of the biosphere is rather unpopular with the human race-a crocodile, a dandelion, a stony valley, a snowstorm, an odd-shaped flint-there are three sorts of human being who are particularly likely still to see point in it and befriend it. They are poets, scientists and children. Inside each of us, I suggest, representatives of all these groups can be found.
One of the best ways to see tree flowers is to climb one of the tallest trees and to get into close, tingling touch with them, and then look broad.
Once a disease has entered the body, all parts which are healthy must fight it: not one alone, but all. Because a disease might mean their common death. Nature knows this; and Nature attacks the disease with whatever help she can muster.
We owe it to each other - and to our children and grandchildren - to leave our planet in a better state than when we found it.
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