Every island to a child is a treasure island.
P. D. JamesRead
A man who lives with nature is used to violence and is companionable with death. There is more violence in an English hedgerow than in the meanest streets of a great city.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Living closely with nature exposes one to the raw realities of life and death, often more so than urban existence.
This quote by P. D. James suggests that a person who engages with the natural world is more attuned to the inherent violence and struggles that occur in the wild. It contrasts this relationship with the violence found in urban areas, underscoring that nature's brutality can be more intense and pervasive than the violence seen in human society. It highlights a different perspective on the coexistence of life and death in natural settings versus in cities.
Themes
NatureViolenceDeathUrbanWildlife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental conservation, one could use this quote to explain the relationship between humanity and nature.
More from P. D. James
All quotes βIf from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.
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I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism.
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What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
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Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other Βpeople. Nothing that happens to a writer β however happy, however tragic β is ever wasted.
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It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
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