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Quote by Wendell Berry

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Distant Neighbors: The Selected Letters of Wendell Berry & Gary Snyder

This book features a curated selection of letters exchanged between Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder, exploring themes of nature, culture, and personal philosophy. The correspondence offers insights into the thoughts and experiences of two influential figures in American literature and environmentalism. more

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Wendell Berry
Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry, an American novelist born on August 5, 1934, is renowned for his profound descriptions of rural life and his critical views on modern industrial civilization. more

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“If one accepts the 24th and 104th Psalms as scriptural norms, then surface mining and other forms of earth destruction are perversions. If we take the Gospels seriously, how can we not see industrial warfare - with its inevitable massacre of innocents - as a most shocking perversion? By the standard of all scriptures, neglect of the poor, of widows and orphans, of the sick, the homeless, the insane, is an abominable perversion.”

IfsEarthFormPoorAcceptingStandardsDestructionSickSurfaceScriptureInsaneInevitableNeglectWarfareHomelessShockingNormWidowsOrphanPerversionMiningMassacresPsalmsWidows And Orphans
Author:Wendell Berry
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“Categorical condemnation is the hatred of the mob. It makes cowards brave. And there is nothing more fearful than a religious mob, a mob overflowing with righteousness – as at the crucifixion and before and since. This can happen only after we have made a categorical refusal to kindness: to heretics, foreigners, enemies or any other group different from ourselves.”

MadeDifferentHappensReligiousEnemyKindnessGroupsHatredBraveRighteousnessCowardFearfulRefusalForeignersCondemnationHereticCrucifixion
Author:Wendell Berry
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“The surface of the quieted river, as I think now, is like a window looking into another world that is like this one except that it is quiet. Its quietness makes it seem perfect. The ripples are like the slates of a blind of a shutter through which we see imperfectly what is perfect. Though that other world can be seen only momentarily, it looks everlasting. As the ripples become more agitated, the window darkens and the other world is hidden.the surface of the river is like a living soul, which is easy to disturb, is often disturbed, but, growing calm, shows what it was, is, and will be.”

ThinkingWorldLooksSoulShowsSeemsEasyPerfectGrowingQuietRiversWindowBlindCalmSurfaceEverlastingDisturbedOther WorldsAnother WorldRippleSlateQuietnessShutters
Author:Wendell Berry
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“WE ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY - I mean our country itself, our land. This is a terrible thing to know, but it is not a reason for despair unless we decide to continue the destruction. If we decide to continue the destruction, that will not be because we have no other choice. This destruction is not necessary. It is not inevitable, except that by our submissiveness we make it so.”

IfsKnowsMeanCountryReasonChoicesLandTerribleDespairDestructionOur CountryInevitableDestroyingTerrible Things
Book:The Way of Ignorance: And Other Essays
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