They are all beasts of burden in a sense, ' Thoreau once remarked of animals, 'made to carry some portion of our thoughts.' Animals are the old language of the imagination; one of the ten thousand tragedies of their disappearance would be a silencing of this speech.

Rebecca Solnit
About This Quote

In his essay, "Centenary Address to Harvard Alumni", Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "They are all beasts of burden in a sense, 'thoreau once remarked of animals, 'made to carry some portion of our thoughts.' Animals are the old language of the imagination; one of the ten thousand tragedies of their disappearance would be a silencing of this speech." In this statement, Emerson is talking about the connection between humans and animals. We have been physically separated from them for thousands of years, yet we have been forced from our bond by those who have been cruel or ignorant. The preservation of our natural environment will restore the connection between humans and animals as well as provide us with a means of communication.

Source: A Field Guide To Getting Lost

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