Foreign Proverb Dictionary

Author: Translated by: Zhi Shunfu et al
Editor-in-Chief: Liang Jianmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1993-02-01
Features:
Fragment: Nature is a mirror reflecting God. E. Young, "Night Thoughts" 9
You, who make the stars stay on their orbits; /The ancient sky also appears fresh and wondrous because of you. Wordsworth, "The Duty of Man"
Nature never abandons those who love her. Wordsworth, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey"
To conquer "nature," humans broke through the gate of Eden and faced the challenge of an unordered world. F. K. Ryan, "Fruits of Belief"
Nature is a vast tome, and its author is God. M. Harvey, "Science and Religion"
"Nature" is merely an alias for "health," and the seasons of nature are merely different states of health. Thoreau, "Journal," August 23, 1853
Let nature be as she is, for she knows herself better than we do. Montaigne, "Essays" 3
Fire is the destroyer of the old, the pride of the sun, the monarch of beauty. Gorky, "The Spectator"
Nature is full of passion. Timofeyev, "The Wedding"
It is difficult to judge whether nature is the benevolent mother of humankind or an unkind stepmother. Pliny the Elder, "Natural History" 7
No one would find it hard to return to nature unless they abandoned it. Seneca, "Letters to Lucilius"
Our life, though far from the hustle and bustle, allows us to listen to the talk of trees, the flowing of streams is the best of essays, and even the tiniest stone holds lessons; in every thing, we can find benefit. Shakespeare, "As You Like It" 2
Nature, you are my goddess, I am willing to bow before your laws. Shakespeare, "King Lear" 1
Do not blame "nature," for she has fulfilled her duty; you need only fulfill yours. Milton, "Paradise Lost" 8
The impulses of spring woods / Can help you understand good and evil, / What is the question of man— / The sages have not explained it as clearly. Wordsworth, "The World Is Changed"
Nature has become everything to me.—I cannot describe / Myself as I once was. The roar of waterfalls / Haunts me day and night like a passion; / Huge rocks, / Mountains, deep and dark woods, / Their colors and forms were then my / Strong affections, an insight, a love, / No thought to provide long-lasting pleasure. Wordsworth, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" 1
Whenever I see the rainbow in the sky, / My heart beats fiercely. / I was like this in my childhood, / And I am still like this as an adult, / And I hope to remain so in my old age, / Or let me die! / Since the child is the father of the man, / I hope my reverence for nature will my whole life. Wordsworth, "My Heart Beats Fiercely"
I have long loved what I have seen, / The night quiets me, the day delights me, / The ordinary things of Mother Earth / Are enough for me! / Wordsworth, "Preface to Peter Bell"
I do not love humanity any less, but I love nature more. Byron, "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" 4
I want to return to the gentle, great mother's embrace, O sea, the mother and lover of humanity. Swinburne, "The Triumph of Time"
The world is a chessboard, and the phenomena of the universe are the pieces. We call the rules of the game natural laws. The opponent in the game, we cannot see. We know that he is always fair, just, and patient. But we also know that he never lets a single wrong move go by and never tolerates our ignorance. Huxley, "Liberal Education"
The mind and nature must be combined for wisdom to flourish, and imagination to arise. Thoreau, "Journal," August 23, 1851