Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -- man -- acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world.
Rachel CarsonRead
For the sense of smell, almost more than any other, has the power to recall memories and it's a pity we use it so little.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The sense of smell is a powerful trigger for memories, yet we often overlook its significance.
In this quote, Rachel Carson emphasizes the remarkable ability of our sense of smell to evoke vivid memories and emotions. Despite this profound connection, she laments that we do not fully appreciate or utilize this sensory power, suggesting that we should pay more attention to the olfactory experiences in our lives and how they enrich our memories and connections to the world around us.
Themes
SmellMemoriesNaturePowerRecall
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of nature and memories, this quote can highlight the often-neglected sense of smell.
More from Rachel Carson
All quotes βAs crude a weapon as the cave man's club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life - a fabric on the one hand delicate and destructible, on the other miraculously tough and resilient, and capable of striking back in unexpected ways. These extraordinary capacities of life have been ignored by the practitioners of chemical control who have brought to their task no "high-minded orientation," no humility before the vast forces with which they tamper.
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Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintances who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?
Rachel CarsonRead
To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.
Rachel CarsonRead
We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature.
Rachel CarsonRead
Until we have courage to recognize cruelty for what it is - whether its victim is human or animal - we cannot expect things to be much better in the world. There can be no double standard. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight in killing, we set back the progress of humanity.
Rachel CarsonRead
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
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But we still find the world astounding, we can't get enough of it; even as it shrivels, even as its many lights flicker and are extinguished (the tigers, the leopard frogs, the plunging dolphin flukes), flicker and are extinguished, by us, by us, we gaze and gaze. Where do you draw the line, between love and greed? We never did know, we always wanted more. We want to take it all in, for one last time, we want to eat the world with our eyes.
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In wilderness I sense the miracle of life.
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