I think you have to deal with the confused situation that we're faced with by seizing on the glimpses and particles of life, seizing on them and holding them and trying to make a pattern of them. In other words, trying to put a world back together again
Source: In NY Times, 5 Sep 1968.
-- Archibald MacLeish, (May 7 1892-1982), US poet, playwright, teacher, public official; His concern for liberal democracy figured in much of his work, although his most memorable lyrics are of a more private nature.