Of such a creature it were as foolish to take an estimate, by what he is and what he can do in this life, as it would be to estimate by an eagle's egg, what the old eagle is worth, with wings outspread far above the very thunder, or coming down upon its quarry as the thunder comes!
Beecher uses the metaphor of an eagle to illustrate the profound potential and worth of a person beyond their immediate circumstances.
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More from Henry Ward Beecher
Let us give sap to the tree of Liberty, that it may not wither and die!
An infernal Juno, envious of the destined greatness of this country, hath sent this serpent upon it!
If the South shall give to the country a policy derived from her heathen notions of men, there will be such a peace as men have overdrugged with opium, that deep lethargy just before the mortal convulsions and death!
All attempts at evasion, at adjourning, at concealing and compromising are in vain.