The same law that shapes the earth-star shapes the snow-star. As surely as the petals of a flower are fixed, each of these countless snow-stars comes whirling to earth...these glorious spangles, the sweeping of heaven's floor.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The same universal laws that shape planets also shape snowflakes, which fall like countless stars, reminding us of the heavens' reach.
- In plain terms
- Earthly laws shape snowflakes as they shape stars, spreading across the sky.
- What can you take from it?
- See the connection between the cosmos and everyday phenomena.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do small patterns reflect larger systems?
- What does this suggest about our place in the universe?
Another view
The metaphor may overextend scientific parallels.
More from Henry David Thoreau
Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.
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