"This is how man crawls when he wants to capture nature in action. He imagines points and lines, when he wants to imitate his image; he imagines its motion and weight, when he wants to imitate its force; he divides time into years, days, and hours, when he wants to express its flow, or takes his step as the measure of its extent. But the measure of nature is not the step, nor the millions and millions of steps, but infinity; time is not hers, but man's; its force and images are the essence of life in general.
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Author
Alexander RadishchevAll Translations
All Translations
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This is how man crawls when he wants to capture nature in action. He imagines points and lines, when he wants to imitate his image; he imagines its motion and weight, when he wants to imitate its force; he divides time into years, days, and hours, when he wants to express its flow, or takes his step as the measure of its extent. But the measure of nature is not the step, nor the millions and millions of steps, but infinity; time is not hers, but man's; its force and images are the essence of life in general.
""Așa se târăște omul când dorește să surprindă natura în acțiune. Își imaginează puncte și linii, când vrea să-i imite imaginea; își imaginează mișcarea și greutatea, când vrea să-i imite forța; împarte timpul în ani, zile și ore, când vrea să-i exprime curgerea sau ia pasul său drept măsură a întinderii acesteia. Dar măsura naturii nu este pasul și nici milioanele ;i milioanele de pași, ci infinitul; timpul nu este al ei, ci al omului; forța și imaginile ei sunt esența vieții în general."