Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Nicolas ChamfortRead
Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.
Interpretation
Nature encourages independence rather than wealth or poverty.
This quote emphasizes that nature does not impose conditions of wealth or poverty on individuals, but rather advocates for independence. It suggests that true fulfillment comes not from material riches, but from the ability to stand on one's own and make choices freely within the natural world.
In practice
In a speech about personal growth, one might say, 'Remember, nature never said to be rich; it urges us to be independent.'
Eminence without merit earns deference without esteem.
Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.
It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.
There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
In living and in seeing other men, the heart must break or become as bronze.
And so I leave this world, where the heart must either break or turn to lead (suicide note)
Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.
Nature is slow, but sure; she works no faster than need be; she is the tortoise that wins the race by her perseverance.
In a pine tree behind me, an eagle waits out the rain, hunched into himself, brooding. Crows squabble, a murder chasing a raven. Seals cruise the lines of fishing nets bobbing in the water, hoping for an easy meal, the tender bellies of salmon.
To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward.
We are extremely uncomfortable with the spiritual aspects of gardening, and yet most people feel it in some form or other, even if it's a sense of connection to the greater world on a beautiful day.
The earth was all before me. With a heart Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty, I look about; and should the chosen guide Be nothing better than a wandering cloud, I cannot miss my way.
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