Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferieswas an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth6 November 1848
clearly
A woman can see a woman so clearly - faluts, excellences, details - all are so clear to her.
life beautiful running
O beautiful human life! Tears come to my eyes as I think of it. So beautiful, so inexpressibly beautiful! The song should never be silent, the dance never still, the laugh should sound like water which runs forever.
similar
It is easier to speak to those who have had similar experiences than to those who are as yet ignorant.
mind
It is injurious to the mind as well as to the body to be always in one place and always surrounded by the same circumstances.
boldness courage delicate goes manner natures quite whether women
It is quite true that women like courage, and that boldness often goes a long way; but it is questionable whether with high-bred natures a subdued, quiet, and delicate manner does not go still further.
affairs drift greeks human lead pulls tendency
The old Greeks dwelt on the tendency of human affairs to drift downwards irresistibly to unhappiness. Guilt - that is, untoward and often involuntary actions - pulls generation after generation heavily as lead down, down, down.
body death merely visible
Look at another person while living; the soul is not visible, only the body which it animates. Therefore, merely because after death the soul is not visible is no demonstration that it does not still live.
observing tries works
It would seem that the ant works its way tentatively, and, observing where it fails, tries another place and succeeds.
atmosphere breath calm coming dead early falls raining soft straight
A kestrel can and does hover in the dead calm of summer days, when there is not the faintest breath of wind. He will, and does, hover in the still, soft atmosphere of early autumn, when the gossamer falls in showers, coming straight down as if it were raining silk.
ages english-author linked
This sunlight linked me through the ages to that past consciousness.
bad believe breadth cottage fit human landed landlords large length proper single thoroughly throughout work
The cottages erected by farmers or by landlords are now, one and all, fit and proper habitations for human beings; and I verifly believe it would be impossible throughout the length and breadth of Wiltshire to find a single bad cottage on any large estate, so well and so thoroughly have the landed proprietors done their work.
air alone breath health pure
An inspiration - a long, deep breath of the pure air of thought - could alone give health to the heart.
despot eagerly execute hands history however matter men ready rushed saddest serve sight
No tyrant, however evil, has yet lacked ready hands to execute his most abominable will. To read how eagerly men have rushed to serve the despot is the bitterest, the saddest matter of history; it is the saddest sight in our own day.
agreed artificial future time
To the soul, there is no past and no future; all is, and will be ever, in now. For artificial purposes time is mutually agreed on, but there is really no such thing.