James 3:6 describes the tongue as setting on fire 'the whole course of nature' or literally 'the wheel of existence.' The term evokes the continuous cycle of life and human generation—birth, growth, reproduction, death—all of which can be corrupted by the tongue's destructive power. Some interpretations see an image of a wheel rolling through time, setting everything ablaze as it goes. Others detect an echo of the wheel of fate or fortune from Greek philosophy. Whatever the precise imagery, the point is clear: the tongue's damage extends to the entirety of human life and relationships.