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The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.

Wendell Berry

Whether we or our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.
WENDELL BERRY

All Deal Deciosn Know More Nature Out Party Politician Vote Whether
Annual plants are nature’s emergency medical service, seeded in sounds and scars to hold the land until the perennial cover is re-established.
WENDELL BERRY

Annual Cover Emergency Hold Medical Nature Perennial Plant Scar Seed Service Sound Until
Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.
WENDELL BERRY

Argument Berry Better Cup Dew Drawn Pick Red Rise Than Wet
I’ve had a good life, and was born to and among people I’ve admired and loved.
WENDELL BERRY

Admire Among Born Good Life Loved People
And if we offend gravely enough against what we know to be true, as by failing badly enough to deal affectionately and responsibly with our land and our neighbors, truth will retaliate with ugliness, poverty, and disease.
WENDELL BERRY

Badly Disease Effection Enough Etaliate Gravely Neighbors Offend Poverty Resoinsinble True Truth Ugliness
And to take good care of it, we have to know it. And to know it and to be willing to take care of it, we have to love it.
WENDELL BERRY

Care Good Know Love Take Willing
An economy genuinely local and neighborly offers to localities a measure of security that they cannot derive from a national or a global economy controlled by people who, by principle, have no local commitment.
WENDELL BERRY

Derive Economy Genuine Global Local Locality Measure National Neighbour Offer Security
All right, every day ain’t going to be the best day of your life, don’t worry about that. If you stick to it you hold the possibility open that you will have better days.
WENDELL BERRY

All Best Day Every Go Life Open Possible Right Stick Worry
The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.
WENDELL BERRY

Add Bad Better Definition Escape Food May Past Reason Something Strive
Why should conservationists have a positive interest in… farming? There are lots of reasons, but the plainest is: Conservationists eat.
WENDELL BERRY

Conservationist Farm Interest Lot Plainest Positive Readon
It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are.
WENDELL BERRY

Are Better From Learn Ourselves We
The primary motive for good care and good use of the land-community is always going to be affection, which is too often lacking.
WENDELL BERRY

Affection Always Care Community Go Good Lack Land Motive Often Primary Use
It is a horrible fact that we can read in the daily paper, without interrupting our breakfast, numerical reckonings of death and destruction that ought to break our hearts or scare us out of our wits.
WENDELL BERRY

Breakfast Daily Fact Horrible Interrupting Paper Read
We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true.
WENDELL BERRY

Alone Belong God Know Nevertheless Seek Take True Truth Whose
When you are new at sheep-raising and your ewe has a lamb, your impulse is to stay there and help it nurse and see to it and all. After a while, you know that the best thing you can do is walk out of the barn.
WENDELL BERRY

All Help Impulse IT Lamb New Nurse Raise See Sheep Stay When
A longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.
WENDELL BERRY

Do Justice Longer Memory Sense Sterner We

The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.

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The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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