Always, the aristocracy of nature asserts itself. The burning of forests subsides into the weeping of rain. The earth grieves and is born again. The seeds burst in the hot soil and germinate. The men return, encouraged by their dreams and by their curious ability to endure. They build and build again what has been torn down and thrown onto the pyre. Some will proclaim their permanence in the face of all seasons; others will suspect their oneness with the transience of water and sky. These human beings are loyal subjects of the great ecology of hope.

Michael D. O'Brien en Strangers and Sojourners.