I go to the wild mountains where I am responsible for myself. Step by step I am making sure that I don't die.
Reinhold MessnerRead
Man has gone to the moon but he does not yet know how to make a flame tree or a bird song. Let us keep our dear countries free from irreversible mistakes which would lead us in the future to long for those same birds and trees.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of preserving nature and understanding our environment despite our technological advancements.
Felix Houphouet-Boigny reflects on the paradox of human achievement; while we have accomplished incredible feats like landing on the moon, we still lack a profound understanding of the natural world, as symbolized by the inability to create a flame tree or a bird song. The quote serves as a warning to maintain our environmental integrity and avoid making choices that result in irreversible damage to the ecosystems that sustain life.
Themes
NaturePreservationEnvironmentTechnologyWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental policy, one could use this quote to highlight the need for sustainable practices.
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A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.
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Matsuo BashoRead
"Hear! hear!" screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, "winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it."
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Resource efficiency is the wrong metric. We should use nature as the measure, using nature's wisdom as a template for our economic systems.
Douglas TompkinsRead