Quotes About Nature

The life of a hunter-gatherer is indeed, as Thomas Hobbes said of the state of nature, 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'.

Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many.

The nature of man is such that people consider themselves put under an obligation as much by the benefits they confer as by those they receive.

Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.

For no man is found so prudent as to know how to adapt himself to these changes, both because he cannot deviate from the course to which nature inclines him, and because, having always prospered while adhering to one path, he cannot be persuaded that it would be well for him to forsake it. And so when occasion requires the cautious man to act impetuously, he cannot do so and is undone: whereas had he changed his nature with time and circumstances, his fortune would have been unchanged.

Differences between the conduct of the multitude and the conduct of the princes do not derive from differences in their nature, that being the same in both (though if there be some superiority either way, it will be found on the side of the people); rather, they derive from differences in their respect for the laws under which they live.

The nature of men is such that they find themselves obligated as much for the benefits they confer as for those they receive.

But a man is not often found sufficiently circumspect to know how to accommodate himself to the change, both because he cannot deviate from what nature inclines him to do, and also because, having always prospered by acting in one way, he cannot be persuaded that it is well to leave it; and, therefore, the cautious man, when it is time to turn adventurous, does not know how to do it, hence he is ruined; but had he changed his conduct with the times fortune would not have changed.

It is in the nature of things that every time you try to avoid one danger you run into another. Good sense consists in being able to assess the dangers and choose the lesser of various evils.

Di qui nacque che tutt'i profeti armati vinsono, e li disarmati ruinorono. Perché, oltre alle cose dette, la natura de' populi è varia; et è facile a persuadere loro una cosa, ma è difficile fermarli in quella persuasione.

Hay dos maneras de combatir: una con leyes y otra con la fuerza, la primera es propia del hombre, la segunda es de los animales, pero como muchas veces la primera no basta conviene recurrir a la segunda.

you must know that there are two modes of fighting: one in accordance with the laws, the other with force. The first is proper to man, the second to beasts. But because the first, in many cases, is not sufficient, it becomes necessary to have recourse to the second: therefore, a prince must know how to make good use of the natures of both the beast and the man.

You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.

Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.

Trzeba by? ksi?ciem, aby pozna? natur? ludu. Trzeba nale?e? do ludu, aby pozna? natur? ksi???t

Existem duas formas de se combater: uma, pelas leis; outra, pela força. A primeira é própria do homem; a segunda, dos animais.

hailed the Florentine as the first modern thinker to have exposed the nature of political tyranny.

There is in everything a latent evil peculiar to it.

to learn that the line I called the horizon does not exist and sky and water, so long apart, are the same state of being….

L'olezzo di una carneficina, credono alcuni, può aleggiare su un luogo per anni. Dicono che s'infiltri nel suolo e venga lentamente assorbito dall'intrico delle radici finché, col passare del tempo, tutto ciò che vi cresce, dal più piccolo lichene all'albero più alto, ne viene impregnato.

Artists who shared (Paul) Klee's fundamental beliefs, such as (Piet) Mondrian, were searching for universal truths, often derived from nature and having all-mighty power. For some, a traditional notion of God was part of this; for others, it was of no consequence. What mattered was not the precise character of the object of worship, but the shared belief in its superiority to the cult of self. (104)

I like it when it's sunny, when it rains, when it snows. I like it when it gets dark early, when it stays light late. There's something beautiful about every moment of every day. All you have to do is make the decision to see the positive, to filter the world.

What if the need to have a hard time is built into human nature?

A girl wearing a red dress in a forest will be some strange vision of unexpected eroticism, but a girl wearing a red dress on a catwalk will be highly predictable.