Opposition
There was opposition to the proposals from those who were against what they saw as destruction of the Lake District landscape. Those opposing included the poet William Wordsworth. His letters to the editor of the Morning Post are reproduced in The Illustrated Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes, P. Bicknell, Ed. (Congdon and Weed, New York, 1984), pp. 186–198. His reactions to the technological and "picturesque" incursions of man on his beloved, wild landscape most famously include the following sonnet:
- Is then no nook of English ground secure
- From rash assault? Schemes of retirement sown
- In youth, and 'mid the busy world kept pure
- As when their earliest flowers of hope were blown,
- Must perish;—how can they this blight endure?
- And must he too the ruthless change bemoan
- Who scorns a false utilitarian lure
- 'Mid his paternal fields at random thrown?
- Baffle the threat, bright Scene, from Orresthead
- Given to the pausing traveller's rapturous glance:
- Plead for thy peace, thou beautiful romance
- Of nature; and, if human hearts be dead,
- Speak, passing winds; ye torrents, with your strong
- And constant voice, protest against the wrong.
Read more about this topic: Kendal And Windermere Railway
Famous quotes containing the word opposition:
“Through all opposition the personal benefits of the reform [dress] [bracketed word in original] have compensated; but had it been mainly sacrifice, the thought of working for the amelioration of women and the elevation of humanity would still have been the beacon-star guiding me on amid all discouragements.”
—Susan Pecker Fowler (1823–1911)
“I fear the popular notion of success stands in direct opposition in all points to the real and wholesome success. One adores public opinion, the other, private opinion; one, fame, the other, desert; one, feats, the other, humility; one, lucre, the other, love; one, monopoly, and the other, hospitality of mind.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Commitment, by its nature, frees us from ourselves and, while it stands us in opposition to some, it joins us with others similarly committed. Commitment moves us from the mirror trap of the self absorbed with the self to the freedom of a community of shared values.”
—Michael Lewis (late 20th century)