An interesting writing and a very intellectual individual. Times throughout the writing I had to reread some sentences to understand what he was saying. I'm not sure if i truly understand what is being said, but if you have insights feel free to give your insights in the comments. The first quote that caught on to me was:
"If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. "(182)
If everyone looked at everything at its surface and took it as it appears, we wouldn't fully grasp the meaning. Its like looking at a huge mansion, sure it looks beautiful on the outside, but the inside could be trashed and empty. Same goes with human beings, we have evolved as a society where people often get to caught up on outer beauty. That Henry feels our society can be cruel because we only percieve reality as to what we see. We forget to truly use our brains and hearts and souls to truly see the inner beauty things. That just because societies are growing bigger, richer, prettier, and more independently doesn't mean that God is more or less around us. The inner beauty of our souls have existed will always exist all around us.
" God himself culminates in the present moment, and will never be more divine in the lapse of all the ages."(183)
I love this quote, because its so true in my opinion. God is still here now and will be thousands of years from now. It doesn't matter if your the prettiest, or the richest, or live on the streets, God is just as divine for every thing and everybody. We tend to forget that live itself is beauty, we lose our imagination and keep a narrow mind towards reality. We have to let our minds think of things that would exist out of reality.
"The universe constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions; whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us." (183)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Donny, like you, I had to read Thoreau's selection over a few times.
I think I interpret it the same way as you do, and also feel I don't completely understand all of it.
But I really enjoyed your interpretation of "God himself culminates in the present moment, and will never be more divine in the lapse of all the ages".
I didn't really understand it, but I think your statement that "God is just as divine for every thing and everybody" is truly inspired and helped me see what Thoreau was saying much more clearly. So thank you for that!
Post a Comment