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
We cannot know the consequences of suppressing a child's spontaneity when he is just beginning to be active. We may even suffocate life itself. That humanity which is revealed in all its intellectual splendor during the sweet and tender age of childhood should be respected with a kind of religious veneration. It is like the sun which appears at dawn or a flower just beginning to bloom. Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up himself to life.
Maria MontessoriRead
In the 1970s, what I, as a young foreign student studying in the United States, found most dynamic, exciting and impressive about this country is what much of the world continues to value most about the U.S. today: its open intellectual culture, its great universities, its capacity for discovery and innovation.
Ahmed ZewailRead
A child is an eager observer and is particularly attracted by the actions of the adults and wants to imitate them. In this regard an adult can have a kind of mission. He can be an inspiration for the child's actions, a kind of open book wherein a child can learn how to direct his own movements. But an adult, if he is to afford proper guidance, must always be calm and act slowly so that the child who is watching him can clearly see his actions in all their particulars.
Maria MontessoriRead
Many girls do not go to school because of poverty.
Malala YousafzaiRead
Avoid demonizing television, computer games, and new technologies. Electronic media may compete for kids' attention, but we're not going to get kids reading by badmouthing other entertainment. Admit that TV and games can do things books can't.
Jon ScieszkaRead
Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
Carol S. DweckRead