Nature is a friend, not an enemy. It was created to be the companion and the helper of the man and not a revengeful slave. The men who enslave nature make it hostile and revengeful.
Here, in the Balkans it is still preserved some of the old respect and mercy towards nature. There is still the habit – until not long ago it was a common habit in the Balkans – when a peasant wants to cut a tree, to cut the grass or to cut an animal to make the sign of the cross and say: `God forgive me!`
The peoples who declared a war on life and death, who invented and put into practice in a merciless way the tough words `exploitation of nature` have drawn and are still drawing against them countless damages – because who breaks his friendly bonds with nature breaks them as well with God.
Excerpt from Thoughts about good and evil – Saint Nicholas Velimirovich, Predania Publishing.
