Quotessence
Home / Books / The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

Book by Wendell Berry · 2 quotes · Nature, Creation, Work

Filter quotes by topic

AllNatureCreationWorkEarthMarriageCareCommunityEconomyFidelityConnectionsConsumerismEnvironmentFreedomGodGovernmentHealthHumanityJoyKnowledgeLife

The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays Quotes

“It is impossible to see how good work might be accomplished by people who think that our life in this world either signifies nothing or has only a negative significance. If, on the other hand, we believe that we are living souls, God's dust and God's breath, acting our parts among other creatures all made of the same dust and breath as ourselves; and if we understand that we are free, within the obvious limits of moral human life, to do evil or good to ourselves and to the other creatures - then all our acts have a supreme significance. If it is true that we are living souls and morally free, then all of us are artists. All of us are makers, within mortal terms and limits, of our lives, of one another's lives, of things we need and use... If we think of ourselves as living souls, immortal creatures, living in the midst of a Creation that is mostly mysterious, and if we see that everything we make or do cannot help but have an everlasting significance for ourselves, for others, and for the world, then we see why some religious teachers have understood work as a form of prayer... Work connects us both to Creation and to eternity. (pg. 316, Christianity and the Survival of Creation)”

LifeArtGodNatureWorkPrayerMysteryCreationArtistsSouls
Book:The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays
Create image

“A crowd whose discontent has risen no higher than the level of slogans is only a crowd. But a crowd that understands the reasons for its discontent and knows the remedies is a vital community, and it will have to be reckoned with. I would rather go before the government with two people who have a competent understanding of an issue, and who therefore deserve a hearing, than with two thousand who are vaguely dissatisfied. But even the most articulate public protest is not enough. We don't live in the government or in institutions or in our public utterances and acts, and the environmental crisis has its roots in our lives. By the same token, environmental health will also be rooted in our lives. That is, I take it, simply a fact, and in the light of it we can see how superficial and foolish we would be to think that we could correct what is wrong merely by tinkering with the institutional machinery. The changes that are required are fundamental changes in the way we are living.”

LifeChangeEnvironmentPolicyCreationLifestyleReform
Book:The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays
Create image