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
The wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes how harm to trees happens due to ignorance, and that people inherently care for nature when they are informed.
John Muir's quote highlights the detrimental impact of human actions on trees and nature, attributing this harm to a lack of awareness and belief in the importance of the environment. It suggests that once people are enlightened about the significance of trees and nature, they will naturally develop a sense of responsibility and care for the natural world, indicating that education and awareness are crucial for environmental stewardship.
Themes
TreesIgnoranceAwarenessNatureEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during an environmental awareness seminar to emphasize the importance of education in protecting nature.
More from John Muir
All quotes →When 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
If, in our haste to 'progress,' the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy makers alike, the result will be an ugly America. We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.
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The World is Large - Its beauty indescrible.
ZhuangziRead
The traveler fancies he has seen the country. So he has, the outside of it at least; but the angler only sees the inside. The angler only is brought close, face to face with the flower and bird and insect life of the rich riverbanks, the only part of the landscape where the hand of man has never interfered.
Charles KingsleyRead
Why this cult of wilderness?... because we like the taste of freedom; because we like the smell of danger.
Edward AbbeyRead