“One might as well claim that the tide which rubs pebbles smooth on a beach is doing the pebbles a service because being round is prettier than being jagged. It's of no concern to a pebble what shape it is. But it's very important to a person.”
Bk. 2, Ch. "Let's All Be Different Same As Me"
The Shockwave Rider (1975)
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John Brunner 147
British author 1934–1995Related quotes

“The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.”

St. 23 -24.
De Profundis (1862)
Context: p>I praise Thee while my days go on;
I love Thee while my days go on:
Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost,
With emptied arms and treasure lost,
I thank Thee while my days go on.And having in thy life-depth thrown
Being and suffering (which are one),
As a child drops his pebble small
Down some deep well, and hears it fall
Smiling — so I. THY DAYS GO ON.</p

Source: 1925 - 1940, The sculptor speaks' (1937), pp. 250-251

Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton (1855) by Sir David Brewster (Volume II. Ch. 27). Compare: "As children gath'ring pebbles on the shore", John Milton, Paradise Regained, Book iv. Line 330

2015, Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality (June 2015)