Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.
John MuirRead
Handle a book as a bee does a flower, extract its sweetness but do not damage it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Approach books with care and appreciation, taking the knowledge they offer without causing harm.
This quote by John Muir emphasizes the importance of treating books as valuable resources. Just as bees delicately gather nectar from flowers without causing harm, we should seek to learn from books, absorbing their wisdom and insights while respecting their integrity. It suggests a gentle yet purposeful engagement with literature, highlighting the balance between enjoyment and preservation.
Themes
BooksKnowledgeWisdomEducationLearning
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literacy, one might say, 'Handle a book as a bee does a flower, extract its sweetness but do not damage it.'
More from John Muir
All quotes βWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
John MuirRead
As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can".
John MuirRead
The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted. The whole continent was a garden, and from the beginning, it seemed to be favored above all the other wild parks and gardens of the globe.
John MuirRead
From the dust of the earth, from the common elementary fund, the Creator has made Homo sapiens. From the same material he has made every other creature, however noxious and insignificant to us. They are earth-born companions and our fellow mortals.
John MuirRead
...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life, mountain building, eternal, invincible, unbreakable order; with sermons in stone, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful with humanity.
John MuirRead
Similar quotes
Learning is acquired by reading books; much more necessary learning, the knowledge of the world, is only to be acquired by reading men, and studying all the various editions of them.
Lord ChesterfieldRead
All too rarely do I hear people asking just what it is that we've done to make so many children's hearts so hard, or what collectively we might do to right their moral compass - what values we must live by.
Barack ObamaRead
Whatβs strange is how many beginning writers seem to think that grammar is irrelevant, or that they are somehow above or beyond this subject more fit for a schoolchild than the future author of great literature.
Francine ProseRead
Kids will remind you that, even though you've gone down a road 100 times, it's brand new for them - and that's healthy.
Matthew McconaugheyRead
Black children need to see their lives reflected in the books they read. If they don't, they won't feel welcome in the world of literature. The lives of African-Americans are rich and diverse, and the books our children read should reflect that.
Valerie Wilson WesleyRead
Take the time to write. You can do your life's work in half an hour a day.
Robert HassRead