A lifelong intimacy with animals has got me out of the common notion that they are automata with a slight infusion of intelligence in their composition. The mind in beast and bird, as in man, is the main thing.
William Henry HudsonRead
For here the religion that languishes in crowded cities or steals shame-faced to hide itself in dim churches, flourishes greatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy. Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does not feel himself near to the Unseen?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote speaks to the deep connection between nature and spirituality.
William Henry Hudson highlights the contrast between organized religion, which often feels constrained and hidden in urban environments, and the profound spiritual fulfillment that can be found in nature. In the tranquility of vast hills at dusk, individuals often feel a closeness to the divine, experiencing a sense of joy and connection that transcends conventional religious practices.
Themes
NatureSpiritualityJoyReligionConnection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote would be inspiring in a speech about the importance of preserving natural spaces.
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Nature must be viewed humanly to be viewed at all; that is, her scenes must be associated with humane affections, such as are associated with one's native place. She is most significant to a lover. A lover of Nature is preeminently a lover of man. If I have no friend, what is Nature to me? She ceases to be morally significant. . .
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The earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
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There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.
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Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.
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Many of us who aren't farmers or gardeners still have some element of farm nostalgia in our family past, real or imagined: a secret longing for some connection to a life where a rooster crows in the yard.
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On the day-long follows that I used to do with mothers and their offspring - these chimp families that I knew so well - there was hardly a day when I didn't learn something new about them.
Jane GoodallRead