Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life.
Interpretation
All living beings deserve respect and gentle treatment, as life is precious and short.
Elizabeth Goudge emphasizes the importance of respecting all forms of life, whether human, animal, or plant. She suggests that contempt towards living beings is unacceptable and highlights that civilization is defined by our ability to show respect and kindness towards others, reminding us that life is fleeting and should be cherished.
In practice
A speaker at a wildlife conservation event might quote this to advocate for animal rights.
When you are eighty years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices.
The longest journeyIs the journey inwards.Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest For the source of his being.
Less isn't more; just enough is more.
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.
I pray every night, sometimes long prayers about a lot of things and a lot of people, but I don't talk about it or brag about it because that's between God and me, and I'm no better than anybody else in God's sight.
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the Sunset.
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