“An acre of poppies and a forest of spruce boggle no one’s mind. Even ten square miles of wheat gladdens the hearts of most . . . No, in the plant world, and especially among the flowering plants, fecundity is not an assault on human values. Plants are not our competitors; they are our prey and our nesting materials. We are no more distressed at their proliferation than an owl is at a population explosion among field mice . . . but in the animal world things are different, and human feelings are different . . . Fecundity is anathema only in the animal. "Acres and acres of rats" has a suitably chilling ring to it that is decidedly lacking if I say, instead, "acres and acres of tulips".”
Annie Dillard“Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.”
Annie Dillard“There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind.”
Annie Dillard“Buddhism notes that it is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone.”
Annie Dillard“Just think: in all the clean, beautiful reaches of the solar system, our planet alone is a blot; our planet alone has death.”
Annie Dillard“As soon as beauty is sought not from religion and love, but for pleasure, it degrades the seeker.”
Annie Dillard“The notion of the infinite variety of detail and the multiplicity of forms is a pleasing one; in complexity are the fringes of beauty, and in variety are generosity and exuberance.”
Annie Dillard“It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our creator, our very self-consciousness, is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. It was a bitter birthday present from evolution.”
Annie Dillard“You can't test courage cautiously.”
Annie Dillard“The surest sign of age is loneliness.”
Annie Dillard“There must be bands of enthusiasts for everything on earth-fanatics who shared a vocabulary a batch of technical skills and equipment and perhaps a vision of some single slice of the beauty and mystery of things of their complexity fascination and unexpectedness.”
Annie Dillard