Give five examples from the text of language that reflects the attitude that nature is an enemy to be conquered in The Control of Nature.

Throughout The Control of Nature, John McPhee shows the human attitude toward nature as an irresistible challenge of conquest.
One example is his inspiration to study significant ways this challenge has played out, which came from an inscription on the engineering building at the University of Wyoming: "Strive on—the control of Nature is won, not given."
Second, McPhee constantly reminds the reader of the high cost of that attitude; as nature is diminished because humans jeopardize themselves with lack of foresight:

In making war with nature, there was risk of loss in winning.

A third reference is in the essay "Atchafalaya," which is about the efforts to dam and divert the Mississippi River in Louisiana. He succinctly states the underlying attitude of the US Army Corps's engineering project:

Man against nature. That's what life's all about.

Fourth, in the same essay, McPhee quotes from a film the Corps had made:

This nation has a large and powerful adversary. . . . We are fighting Mother Nature. It's a battle we have to fight day by day, year by year.

Fifth, in the essay about volcanic eruptions in Iceland, he writes about efforts to stem the lava flow, which were commanded by Sveinn Eiriksson. They were compared to a war, and Eiriksson was nicknamed "Patton" after the legendary World War II general George Patton.