The Holy Earth

Human responsibility toward the land begins, for L. H. Bailey, with the belief that the earth has value beyond what people can take from it. Published in 1915, these reflections join religious thought with questions of country life, farming, property and the care of natural resources. Bailey reads the biblical account of creation as a source of obligation: human power over forests, rivers and fields should bring a duty to cherish them.

The argument moves from this spiritual foundation to the habits of daily work and the place of agriculture in society. In the middle excerpt, Bailey considers delicate plants, small animals and microscopic organisms, finding strength in their persistence and mutual dependence. His discussion challenges the use of nature's competition to justify human conflict. Readers interested in the history of conservation can trace an approach that connects care for the living world with personal conduct and public life.