I would not enter on my list of friends_x000D_ _x000D_ (Though graced with polished manners and fine sense,_x000D_ _x000D_ Yet wanting sensibility) the man_x000D_ _x000D_ Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of compassion and sensitivity towards all living beings.
William Cowper's quote reflects on the idea that true friendship should be built on empathy and kindness, suggesting that a person who can harm even the smallest creature lacks the essential quality of sensibility. It highlights the moral responsibility we have to treat all beings with care and consideration.
In practice
Using this quote during a speech about animal rights.
Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass, the mere materials with which wisdom builds, till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place, does but encumber whom it seems to enrich. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; wisdom is humble that he knows no more.
This cabin, Mary, in my sight appears,_x000D_ _x000D_ Built as it has been in our waning years,_x000D_ _x000D_ A rest afforded to our weary feet,_x000D_ _x000D_ Preliminary to - the last retreat.
Strength may wield the ponderous spade, May turn the clod, and wheel the compost home; But elegance, chief grace the garden shows, And most attractive, is the fair result Of thought, the creature of a polished mind.
No wisdom that she may gain by experience and reflection hereafter, will compensate the loss of her present hilarity.
Even in the stifling bosom of the town,_x000D_ _x000D_ A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms_x000D_ _x000D_ That soothes the rich possessor; much consol'd,_x000D_ _x000D_ That here and there some sprigs of mournful mint,_x000D_ _x000D_ Or nightshade, or valerian, grace the well_x000D_ _x000D_ He cultivates.
Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa around, And while the bubbling and loud-hissing urn Throws up a steamy column, and the cups That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, So let us welcome peaceful evening in
I tell you what's really ridiculous--going into a bookstore and there's all these books about yourself. In a way, it feels like you're already dead.
The elevation of parochial values to the realm of the sacred is a license to dismiss other people's interests, and an imperative to reject the possibility of compromise
Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward.
If you have ever seen a four-year-old trying to lord it over a two-year-old, then you know what the basic problem of human nature is - and why government keeps growing larger and ever more intrusive.
Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.
Events can neither be regarded as a series of adventures nor strung on the thread of a preconceived moral. They must obey their own laws.
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