O ruined piece of nature! This great world
Shall so wear out to naught.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 6. Shocked at Lear’s mad ramblings on the heath, Gloucester exclaims this about the King. He laments that Lear’s shattered wits represent the ruin of nature and a sign of how the great world will end up, worn down to nothing. Nature, including what is natural in character and behavior of humans, is highly valued by Lear. Gloucester’s comment on nature being ruined and the downfall of the world can be viewed as nihilistic.