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The residence of wild beasts will be broken up

RobertU

RobertU

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From the 1758 almanac of Nathanial Ames, Denham, Mass.:

. . . Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon: Treasures of immense worth concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives!
. . . As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever . . . The rocks will disclose their hidden gems and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver will be broken up. Huge mountains of ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.
This metal, more useful than gold and silver, will employ millions of hands, not only to form the martial sword and peaceful share alternately, but an infinity of utensils improved in the exercise of art and handicraft among men. Nature through all her works has stamped authority on this law, namely, “That all fit matter shall be improved to its best purpose.”
. . . Oh ye unborn inhabitants of America! . . . when your eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the seasons round for two or three centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758, we dreamed of your times.

SOURCE: “Prophecy for North America,” This Is America My Country, Vol. 1, pp 149-150, edited by Donald H. Sheehan, Ph.D., Veterans’ Historical Book Service, Inc., 1952.

A view that the wilderness is permeated by “heathenish darkness” seems to persist in the philosophy of many conservatives who believe they have a divine right to ravage the land.
 
RobertU said:
From the 1758 almanac of Nathanial Ames, Denham, Mass.:

. . . Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon: Treasures of immense worth concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives!
. . . As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever . . . The rocks will disclose their hidden gems and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver will be broken up. Huge mountains of ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.
This metal, more useful than gold and silver, will employ millions of hands, not only to form the martial sword and peaceful share alternately, but an infinity of utensils improved in the exercise of art and handicraft among men. Nature through all her works has stamped authority on this law, namely, “That all fit matter shall be improved to its best purpose.”
. . . Oh ye unborn inhabitants of America! . . . when your eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the seasons round for two or three centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758, we dreamed of your times.

SOURCE: “Prophecy for North America,” This Is America My Country, Vol. 1, pp 149-150, edited by Donald H. Sheehan, Ph.D., Veterans’ Historical Book Service, Inc., 1952.

A view that the wilderness is permeated by “heathenish darkness” seems to persist in the philosophy of many conservatives who believe they have a divine right to ravage the land.
Click to expand...

Too bad "heathenish darkness" appears nowhere in your excerpt.
What makes you think this is a uniquely conservative view?

"History is a pack of lies we play on the dead."
Voltaire


 
Jack Hays said:
Too bad "heathenish darkness" appears nowhere in your excerpt.
What makes you think this is a uniquely conservative view?

"History is a pack of lies we play on the dead."
Voltaire
Click to expand...

Try reading again: it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America.


I don't hear any liberals saying that God gives us the right to destroy the wilderness. And I have heard some religious conservatives say that the environment doesn't matter because the world will soon come to an end.
 
RobertU said:
Try reading again: it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America.


I don't hear any liberals saying that God gives us the right to destroy the wilderness. And I have heard some religious conservatives say that the environment doesn't matter because the world will soon come to an end.
Click to expand...

My oversight; I apologize.
"I have heard some religious conservatives say . . . ":lamo What blithering nonsense.
No one says God gives us the right to destroy the wilderness.
Nothing has done more to expand resource exploitation than the end of nuclear power.
 
Jack Hays said:
My oversight; I apologize.
"I have heard some religious conservatives say . . . ":lamo What blithering nonsense.
No one says God gives us the right to destroy the wilderness.
Nothing has done more to expand resource exploitation than the end of nuclear power.
Click to expand...

Well, some say God gives us the right to carve up the earth:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Scott Pruitt said his desire to use the Earth’s resources like oil and coal is grounded in the Bible.

Source: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/375148-pruitt-bible-says-harvest-the-natural-resources
 
Jack Hays said:
That is not the same as to destroy the wilderness. That formulation is only your prejudice speaking.
Click to expand...

Strip mining for coal does destroy the wilderness. And oil leaks do destroy wildlife, especially in the ocean.
 
RobertU said:
Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon: Treasures of immense worth concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives!
. . . As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever . . . The rocks will disclose their hidden gems and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver will be broken up. Huge mountains of ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.
Click to expand...

I'm always curious what has been omitted in extracts like this. Are they just lengthy, tangential sections which would needlessly distract from an otherwise brief and on-point quotation? Or is there some other reason for their removal?

From the second half of the extract:
https://www.bartleby.com/400/prose/308.html

This metal, more useful than gold and silver, will employ millions of hands, not only to form the martial sword and peaceful share alternately, but an infinity of utensils improved in the exercise of art and handicraft among men. Nature through all her works has stamped authority on this law, namely, “That all fit matter shall be improved to its best purpose.” Shall not then those vast quarries that teem with mechanic stone,—those for structure be piled into great cities,—and those for sculpture into statues to perpetuate the honor of renowned heroes; even those who shall now save their country? O! ye unborn inhabitants of America! should this page escape its destined conflagration at the year’s end, and these alphabetical letters remain legible,—when your eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the seasons round for two or three centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758, we dreamed of your times.​

Those are hardly lengthy tangents, but they provide interesting context which I assume relates to the French and Indian War, which seems to have been going poorly for the British and their colonies until 1958 or so.

From the first half of the extract:
THIRDLY, of the future state of North America.—Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon:—Treasures of immense worth; concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives! The curious have observed that the progress of human literature (like the sun) is from the east to the west; thus has it travelled through Asia and Europe, and now is arrived at the eastern shore of America.
As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever; instead of which the stones and trees will dance together in the music of Orpheus,—the rocks will disclose their hidden gems,—and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver be broken up. Huge mountains of iron ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.​

These seem to be very selective omissions: Removing the former gives an impression of the author as a Eurocentric bigot, seemingly contradicted by his praise of Asian contribution to literary advancement (and the fact that Native Americans were helping the French more than the British in the war). Removing the latter leaves an impression of the author as contemptuous towards nature and her beauty.
 
Mithrae said:
I'm always curious what has been omitted in extracts like this. Are they just lengthy, tangential sections which would needlessly distract from an otherwise brief and on-point quotation? Or is there some other reason for their removal?

From the second half of the extract:
https://www.bartleby.com/400/prose/308.html

This metal, more useful than gold and silver, will employ millions of hands, not only to form the martial sword and peaceful share alternately, but an infinity of utensils improved in the exercise of art and handicraft among men. Nature through all her works has stamped authority on this law, namely, “That all fit matter shall be improved to its best purpose.” Shall not then those vast quarries that teem with mechanic stone,—those for structure be piled into great cities,—and those for sculpture into statues to perpetuate the honor of renowned heroes; even those who shall now save their country? O! ye unborn inhabitants of America! should this page escape its destined conflagration at the year’s end, and these alphabetical letters remain legible,—when your eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the seasons round for two or three centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758, we dreamed of your times.​

Those are hardly lengthy tangents, but they provide interesting context which I assume relates to the French and Indian War, which seems to have been going poorly for the British and their colonies until 1958 or so.

From the first half of the extract:
THIRDLY, of the future state of North America.—Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon:—Treasures of immense worth; concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives! The curious have observed that the progress of human literature (like the sun) is from the east to the west; thus has it travelled through Asia and Europe, and now is arrived at the eastern shore of America.
As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever; instead of which the stones and trees will dance together in the music of Orpheus,—the rocks will disclose their hidden gems,—and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver be broken up. Huge mountains of iron ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.​

These seem to be very selective omissions: Removing the former gives an impression of the author as a Eurocentric bigot, seemingly contradicted by his praise of Asian contribution to literary advancement (and the fact that Native Americans were helping the French more than the British in the war). Removing the latter leaves an impression of the author as contemptuous towards nature and her beauty.
Click to expand...

Congratulations on finding the full passage. But no, I wasn't trying to slant the remarks. I was just trying to be as concise as possible. I have several years of experience as an editor and writer, so I have become accustomed to cutting copy. My general rule of thumb on a thread comment: Is this short enough that a newspaper would run it as a letter to the editor?
 
I just remembered there was another reason I deleted the sentence: The curious have observed that the progress of human literature (like the sun) is from the east to the west; thus has it travelled through Asia and Europe, and now is arrived at the eastern shore of America.

I had planned to use that concept in a different thread to emphasize a certain aspect of Egyptian mythology.
 
RobertU said:
Congratulations on finding the full passage. But no, I wasn't trying to slant the remarks. I was just trying to be as concise as possible. I have several years of experience as an editor and writer, so I have become accustomed to cutting copy. My general rule of thumb on a thread comment: Is this short enough that a newspaper would run it as a letter to the editor?
Click to expand...

You quoted eighteen lines of text (on my screen) and added seven lines of reference and comments, but somehow this single line - from the very same sentence as your thread title! - simply didn't make the cut despite changing the implied tone and attitude towards nature. I'm sure that was just an unfortunate coincidence ;)

and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever; instead of which the stones and trees will dance together in the music of Orpheus,​
 
Mithrae said:
You quoted eighteen lines of text (on my screen) and added seven lines of reference and comments, but somehow this single line - from the very same sentence as your thread title! - simply didn't make the cut despite changing the implied tone and attitude towards nature. I'm sure that was just an unfortunate coincidence ;)

and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever; instead of which the stones and trees will dance together in the music of Orpheus,​
Click to expand...

My interpretation from the last line is that trees will become paper for writing and stone become blocks for carving and building, as outlined earlier in the passage. Orpheus is a deity that tamed the land through his work. The music referred here i beleive is referring to the noise from clearing the land.
 
RobertU said:
From the 1758 almanac of Nathanial Ames, Denham, Mass.:

. . . Here we find a vast stock of proper materials for the art and ingenuity of man to work upon: Treasures of immense worth concealed from the poor ignorant aboriginal natives!
. . . As the celestial light of the Gospel was directed here by the finger of God, it will doubtless finally drive the long, long night of heathenish darkness from America. So arts and sciences will change the face of nature in their tour from hence over the Appalachian Mountains to the western ocean; and as they march through the vast desert, the residence of wild beasts will be broken up, and the obscene howl cease forever . . . The rocks will disclose their hidden gems and the inestimable treasures of gold and silver will be broken up. Huge mountains of ore are already discovered; and vast stores are reserved for future generations.
This metal, more useful than gold and silver, will employ millions of hands, not only to form the martial sword and peaceful share alternately, but an infinity of utensils improved in the exercise of art and handicraft among men. Nature through all her works has stamped authority on this law, namely, “That all fit matter shall be improved to its best purpose.”
. . . Oh ye unborn inhabitants of America! . . . when your eyes behold the sun after he has rolled the seasons round for two or three centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758, we dreamed of your times.

SOURCE: “Prophecy for North America,” This Is America My Country, Vol. 1, pp 149-150, edited by Donald H. Sheehan, Ph.D., Veterans’ Historical Book Service, Inc., 1952.

A view that the wilderness is permeated by “heathenish darkness” seems to persist in the philosophy of many conservatives who believe they have a divine right to ravage the land.
Click to expand...

You know that the attitude of the writer is what has transformed America and the world into this place where humanity is working out how to defeat death, how to build space ships and cities in orbit etc.

Do you think that that is bad or good? Would you prefer to live in a none-industrial age? An age without progress?
 
RobertU said:
Congratulations on finding the full passage. But no, I wasn't trying to slant the remarks. I was just trying to be as concise as possible. I have several years of experience as an editor and writer, so I have become accustomed to cutting copy. My general rule of thumb on a thread comment: Is this short enough that a newspaper would run it as a letter to the editor?
Click to expand...

And just can't get out of the anti-progress and science mind set that is the result of knowing that they know stuff and all you have learnt is art trivia. Thus you slant the words to your negativity.
 
I took it he was speaking of iron ore. Not coal, but the coal was needed to forge steel.
 
Steve Case said:
"B.S. - Natural oil seeps leak way more than than commercial oil spills and they've been leaking forever. So far the oceans have suvived.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_seep
In the Gulf of Mexico, there are more than 600 natural oil seeps that leak between one and five million barrels of oil per year,

Deepwater Horizon oil spill (GOOGLE)
Volume: 4.9 million barrels​
Click to expand...

The question we are trying to answer here is, “how are oil seeps different from oil spills?” Oil seeps occur constantly, throughout the Gulf. Although they do release a lot of oil together over time, their individual spill rates are far, far lower than the Deepwater Horizon gusher. What’s more, these much smaller seeps are dispersed around the Gulf, so each seep’s oil can be degraded quickly.

That is not what happens in an oil spill. It is true that the amount of oil that has spilled from this gusher so far is less than the ANNUAL AGGREGATE of all 600+ seeps in the Gulf. But it’s all coming out at the same time, in the same place. The water in one location can only degrade so much oil at one time; an oil spill goes far beyond overwhelming the ocean’s natural oil-coping mechanisms.

Source: https://politicalclimate.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/natural-oil-seeps-vs-oil-spills/
 
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