Jamie Richards- Outside Reading #1

"Gentleman...look around you at the gifts of God, the clear sky, the pure air, the tender grass, the birds; nature is beautiful and sinless, and we, only we, are godless and foolish, and we don't understand that life is a paradise, for we have only to understand that and it will at once be fulfilled in all its beauty, we shall embrace each other and weep."

I first read a portion of this novel, "The Brothers Karamazov," written by the Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky, in the latter half of my high school years, and after scanning it over once again found the quote above to be among the most prominent of the piece. I personally feel as if it is quite illuminative and thought-provoking in nature, bringing forth a number of ideas in the reader, and perhaps even a new appreciation for the world around us. Upon initially comprehending this statement, I could not help but ponder how the world would look in the absence of human exploitation and manipulation. It is simply mind-boggling to think of how extensively most individuals take certain aspects of nature for granted. We truly do have a paradise presented before us that many would say we are slowly degrading..