A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline and dissolution by which she removes things which have survived their usefulness.
quote by William Graham Sumner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Guided only by their feeling for symmetry, simplicity, and generality, and an indefinable sense of the fitness of things, creative mathematicians now, as in the past, are inspired by the art of mathematics rather than by any prospect of ultimate usefulness.
Maybe altruism is our most primitive attribute out of reach, beyond our control. Or perhaps it is immediately at hand, waiting to be released, disguised now, in our kind of civilization as affection or friendship or attachment. I can’t see why it should be unreasonable for all human beings to have strands of DNA coiled up in chromosomes, coding out instincts for usefulness and helpfulness. Usefulness may turn out to be the hardest test of fitness for survival, more important than aggression, more effective, in the long run, than grabbiness.
quote by Lewis Thomas
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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An Open Secret!
Can you unfold rose bud as naturally as it is?
Sun flower blooms by the sight of Sun all days;
Lily flower blooms by the sight of Moon all days.
Is it possible to do so by me or your presence?
Nature does wonder we cannot even imagine!
Seeing Nature many things are created often;
But all delicate things can man do as Nature?
Natural expression has a value of its own sure;
Learning and doing things are different matter;
Same thing happens in the creativity of poetry.
All things happening in Nature are great wonders;
But who does care to note things of beauty in Nature?
Divine spirit present in all things of Nature is clear; but
Ignorance of man fails him to realize this open secret!
poem by Ramesh T A
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We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness is about as close to a 'common goal' of nature as I can guess at. And finally, and perhaps best of all, we have music.
quote by Lewis Thomas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language.... We have affection We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness is about as close to a "common goal" of nature as I can guess at. And finally, and perhaps best of all, we have music.
Lewis Thomas in The Medusa and the Snail (1979)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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London Types: Sandwich-Man
An ill March noon; the flagstones gray with dust;
An all-round east wind volleying straws and grit;
St. Martin's Steps, where every venomous gust
Lingers to buffet, or sneap, the passing cit;
And in the gutter, squelching a rotten boot,
Draped in a wrap that, modish ten-year syne,
Partners, obscene with sweat and grease and soot,
A horrible hat, that once was just as fine;
The drunkard's mouth a-wash for something drinkable,
The drunkard's eye alert for causal toppers,
The drunkard's neck stooped to a lot scarce thinkable,
A living crawling blazoning of Hot-Coppers,
He trails his mildews towards a Kingdom-Come
Compact of sausage-and-mash and two-o'rum!
poem by William Ernest Henley
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Amy Hit The Atmosphere
If I could make it rain today
And wash away this sunny day down to the gutter
I would just to get a change of pace
Things are getting worse but I feel a lot better
And that's all that really matters to me
Amy hit the atmosphere
Caught herself a rocket ride out of this gutter and
She's never coming back
song performed by by Counting Crows from This Desert Life
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Magic
Magic,
Can attract.
To...
Keep one mesmerized,
All their lives.
And...
Without a fantasizing it,
To...
Hynotize for somebody's,
Benefit.
Magic...
Will attract.
And...
Keep one seeking to stay hook,
As if it was a drug to eat and cook.
A magic!
Whether black or white,
Is a magic...
To not be denied,
As magic...
From another place.
Removing everything taken once for granted.
It's magic!
Whether black or white,
Is a magic...
To not be denied,
As magic...
From another place.
Removing everything one took for granted.
It's magic,
From another place.
Removing everything taken once for granted.
It's magic!
Whether black or white,
And removing everything to clear one's eyes.
Magic...
Will attract,
A magic!
Whether black or white,
Is a magic...
To not be denied,
As magic...
From places unseen.
And removing false things people claim to dream.
Magic...
Will remove things seen people always take for granted.
A magic...
Will remove false things people claim to dream.
A magic...
Will remove things seen people always take for granted.
It's magic...
That removes false things people claim to dream.
It's magic...
That removes things seen people always take for granted.
Magic...
Will remove false things people claim to dream.
A magic...
Will remove things seen people always take for granted.
It's magic...
That removes false things people claim to dream.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The human tendency to regard little things as important has produced very many great things.
quote by Georg C. Lichtenberg
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards. There are none but have this tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards. Now by striking water and causing it to leap up, you may make it go.
quote by Ni'matullah Wali
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To regard all things and principles of things as inconstant modes or fashions has more and more become the tendency of modern thought.
quote by Walter Pater
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All Things In Nature
All things in Nature have a purpose and all life does inter-relate
And only Nature herself it seem does not have a use by date
And us humans are like Nature's Seasons to life we come and go
And the more we learn of Nature the less about her we know we know
Nature has been around forever and she will live forever more
Everywhere around the World Nature lives on every shore
In the warmest and coldest Countries Nature's life forms are known to dwell
Without any help from humans most creatures survive quite well
All things in Nature seem co-dependent at least that's how it does appear
Most wild creatures warn others when they sense danger is near
One is born to live as predator one is born to live as prey
The predator weeds out the injured, sick and aged that is always Nature's way
All things in Nature have a purpose and all things does inter-relate
And Nature she goes on forever on her there is no use by date.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Things Are Getting Better
Well I worked for a week and I got no pay.
(things getting better.)
Well my babys coming back home to stay
(things getting better.)
Well shes coming back home, but I havent got a dime
(things getting better.)
But Ive got my love to keep me fine[? ].
(things getting better.)
Oh-oh
Things getting better.
Things getting better.
Well since my babys been away,
(things getting better.)
Well things got worse from day to day.
(things getting better.)
Well now my babys come back to me.
(things getting better.)
Yeah, itll get better, wait and see.
(things getting better.)
Oh-oh
Things getting better.
Things getting better.
Oh-oh
Things getting better.
Things getting better.
Well I pawned my watch and I sold my car.
(things getting better.)
The money Ive got wouldnt get me far.
(things getting better.)
But I dont mind now that youve packed.
(things getting better.)
Its a fact, that
Things getting better.
Things getting better.
Oh-oh
Things getting better.
Things getting better.
song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We are one - In adversity in prosperity
In adversity
We are one
In prosperity
We are one.
Are we really one?
There is some lacuna.
Our friendship is our strength.
Are we weak if we are not friend?
Life's detour
You can not exile anybody
And act as orator.
To show manliness is reward
We are not drunkard.
We can not go for
Universal dissolution.
We are rational
Our revelation is our prostration.
We are one
And one.
poem by Gajanan Mishra
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Civilizations in decline are consistently characterised by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity.
quote by Arnold Toynbee
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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GOOD and BAD
There seems to be a discrepancy
about what is good or bad.
It depends upon who you are
and what it is you have had.
Good to some is the nature of things
and how it makes you feel.
Bad to some is how nature sings
because they want to steal
the beauty of it for their own vicious use.
And good to them is all their abuse
to things that grow and things that thrive
and so they apply their ruse.
The thievery of resources for greed and wealth,
The teaching of lies to ruin your health,
The addition of poisons in what you eat,
The killing of wildlife whose lives they cheat,
The excuses for nuclear energy
to power what we could have for free.
So good, bad what does it mean?
Not too much in our everyday scene.
Nature's been taken for granted today.
But always nature will have the last say.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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In With a New Priority List For 2009
Things that people did well...
Like lieing.
Cheating.
Feeding greed.
Deceiving with sincerity.
Hating because of race...
Color of eyes, skin and nail polish.
Embellishing.
Backstabbing.
Goss iping.
And character assassinating!
All these 'nurtured' personas are 'OUT'!
Although clawing their way to remain centerstage!
'OUT'! Never the less.
Booted to the curb and flushed down the gutter.
What is 'IN'?
Integrity.
Honesty.
Comprehension/under standing.
Empathy.
Reality.
Sharing/cari ng.
Tears.
Letting go.
Self examination.
Apologies.
Forgiveness.
Lov e.
Hugs.
And LOTS of physical fitness.
This is the out with the old,
In with a new priority list for 2009!
And these are more than resolutions.
Some will recognize what is on the 'IN' list,
As acts one will adopt to maintain survival.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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It is an error to imagine that evolution signifies a constant tendency to increased perfection. That process undoubtedly involves a constant remodelling of the organism in adaptation to new conditions; but it depends on the nature of those conditions whether the directions of the modifications effected shall be upward or downward.
quote by Thomas H. Huxley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Process Of a Divinity
If anything in nature had been created,
Based on falsities...
All that has been manmade,
To reflect a stability...
Would have earned the praise of nature.
And not be bombarded by devastation!
Or persistent tragedies.
To experience a weeping before repeated.
Nature is a process of a divinity.
One far superior.
With a majestic quality!
And the ignorance of disobedience,
Causes many to grieve.
That's why all living things,
Depend on trees to breathe.
And when the trees decide to leave...
Excuses made will no longer have purpose.
Or a need for reasons,
To explain the outcome of possibilities.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Sonnet: God Is One and Only Omnipotent One
All things take care of themselves in this world;
No worrying changes course of anything;
A few things occurring sound rather weird;
God will decide the fate of poor or king!
Even the freak of things is as per laws;
Man can't decipher many things on earth;
Through Nature, God controls all things as Boss!
God permits abortions and test-tube birth!
Why God allows unfairness to thrive then?
His thoughts are not like man's but much diff'rent;
Our ways are not like His and of heaven;
Man tries to be foolish, belligerent!
The Master of the universe is Lord
Of things, unseen and seen, and keeps His word!
poem by John Celes
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