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John Muir in His Own Words: A Book of Quotations
Earth has no sorrow that earth cannot heal. (John Muir)
The best of John 332 quotations, the distillation of his thought, the essence of his beliefs. Muir was the foremost conservationist of his nature writer, social critic, realist, a romantic, a visionary. If asked for a succinct statement of his beliefs, Muir might have
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
The best of John 332 quotations, the distillation of his thought, the essence of his beliefs. Muir was the foremost conservationist of his nature writer, social critic, realist, a romantic, a visionary. If asked for a succinct statement of his beliefs, Muir might have
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1988
About the author
John Muir
633 books1,452 followersJohn Muir was far more than a naturalist; he was a secular prophet who translated the rugged language of the wilderness into a spiritual calling that saved the American soul from total surrender to materialism. Born in 1838 in the coastal town of Dunbar, Scotland, Muir’s childhood was a blend of seaside wanderings and a brutal religious upbringing. His father, Daniel Muir, was a man of uncompromising faith who forced John to memorize the New Testament and most of the Old Testament by age eleven. When the family immigrated to the frontier of Wisconsin in 1849, this iron-fisted discipline continued on their farm. However, for the young Muir, the "Book of Nature" began to rival the Bible. He saw the divine not just in scripture, but in the black locust trees and the sun-drenched meadows of the midwest.
The pivotal moment of Muir’s life occurred in 1867 while working at a wagon wheel factory in Indianapolis. A tool slipped, piercing his cornea and leaving him temporarily blind in both eyes. Confined to a darkened room for six weeks, Muir faced the terrifying prospect of a life without light. When his sight miraculously returned, he emerged with a clarity of purpose that would change the course of American history. He famously wrote, "This affliction has driven me to the sweet fields. God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons." He immediately set out on a 1,000-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico, beginning a lifelong odyssey of exploration.
Muir eventually found his "true home" in California’s Sierra Nevada. To Muir, the mountains were not mere piles of rock, but "the range of light." He spent years as a shepherd and guide in Yosemite, living a life of extreme simplicity—often traveling with nothing but a tin cup, a crust of bread, and a volume of Emerson’s essays. His scientific contributions were equally profound; he defied the leading geologists of the day by proving that the Yosemite Valley was carved by ancient glaciers. While the state geologist, Josiah Whitney, dismissed him as a mere "shepherd," the world’s leading glaciologists eventually recognized Muir’s genius.
His transition from explorer to activist was born of necessity. Seeing the "hoofed locusts"—domestic sheep—devouring the high mountain meadows, Muir took up his pen. His landmark articles in The Century Magazine and his 1903 camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt became the catalysts for the modern conservation movement. Under the stars at Glacier Point, Muir convinced the President that the wilderness required federal protection. This meeting laid the groundwork for the expansion of the National Park system and the eventual return of Yosemite Valley to federal control.
As the co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, Muir spent his final years in a fierce philosophical battle with Gifford Pinchot. While Pinchot argued for "conservation" (the sustainable use of resources), Muir championed "preservation" (the protection of nature for its own sake). Though he lost the battle to save the Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, the heartbreak of that loss galvanized the American public, ensuring that future "cathedrals of nature" would remain inviolate. John Muir died in 1914, but his voice remains ubiquitous, reminding us that "into the woods we go, to lose our minds and find our souls."
The pivotal moment of Muir’s life occurred in 1867 while working at a wagon wheel factory in Indianapolis. A tool slipped, piercing his cornea and leaving him temporarily blind in both eyes. Confined to a darkened room for six weeks, Muir faced the terrifying prospect of a life without light. When his sight miraculously returned, he emerged with a clarity of purpose that would change the course of American history. He famously wrote, "This affliction has driven me to the sweet fields. God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons." He immediately set out on a 1,000-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico, beginning a lifelong odyssey of exploration.
Muir eventually found his "true home" in California’s Sierra Nevada. To Muir, the mountains were not mere piles of rock, but "the range of light." He spent years as a shepherd and guide in Yosemite, living a life of extreme simplicity—often traveling with nothing but a tin cup, a crust of bread, and a volume of Emerson’s essays. His scientific contributions were equally profound; he defied the leading geologists of the day by proving that the Yosemite Valley was carved by ancient glaciers. While the state geologist, Josiah Whitney, dismissed him as a mere "shepherd," the world’s leading glaciologists eventually recognized Muir’s genius.
His transition from explorer to activist was born of necessity. Seeing the "hoofed locusts"—domestic sheep—devouring the high mountain meadows, Muir took up his pen. His landmark articles in The Century Magazine and his 1903 camping trip with President Theodore Roosevelt became the catalysts for the modern conservation movement. Under the stars at Glacier Point, Muir convinced the President that the wilderness required federal protection. This meeting laid the groundwork for the expansion of the National Park system and the eventual return of Yosemite Valley to federal control.
As the co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, Muir spent his final years in a fierce philosophical battle with Gifford Pinchot. While Pinchot argued for "conservation" (the sustainable use of resources), Muir championed "preservation" (the protection of nature for its own sake). Though he lost the battle to save the Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed, the heartbreak of that loss galvanized the American public, ensuring that future "cathedrals of nature" would remain inviolate. John Muir died in 1914, but his voice remains ubiquitous, reminding us that "into the woods we go, to lose our minds and find our souls."
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 5, 2018
Those who are familiar with the environmental movement in the Western United States will likely know John Muir for his work in preserving Yosemite and in his unsuccessful efforts to save the Hetch Hetchy Valley from being dammed to create San Francisco's water supply. This book is mercifully short at under 100 pages and will likely be seen in one of two ways. Those who approve of the author's environmentalist worldview and his preachy attitude (I do not) will find a lot in here that likely echoes their own self-righteous and smug condemnation of tourists and ordinary people, and those who do not will wonder why this fellow is considered to be such a big deal given his socialist worldview and his adoration of nature that crosses over into actual nature worship of some sort of sacred earth mother. Sadly, there is far too much of the preacher for environmentalism here and far too little of the sort of mystic who loves nature without feeling it necessary to attack others [1]. Had there been more of the mystic in love with God's creation this book would have been far more enjoyable to read.
In terms of its contents, this book contains 332 quotes that are edited and compiled in thirteen sections organized in a chronological fashion, followed by a topical index that misses my favorite would-be reference of the lot [2]. From the quotes it is fairly obvious that John Muir wrote a lot of letters and a lot of articles, and tended to reuse his quotes later on if he thought they were good ones. He also shows himself to be pretty tiresome and to have somewhat unusual hostility to sheep as well as the ordinary people upon whose efforts society depends for its survival. John Muir, at least in these pages, comes of less like someone one would have wanted to get to know and whose opinion one would value and more like someone who was a cross between a misanthropic hermit and someone who fancied himself an intellectual with a great deal of political interests and some clout among certain audiences.
In reading a book like this, one wonders what Muir was after. Was he really interested in helping to preserve creation from harm? If so, there are a lot better ways to go about it than he did. Indeed, this book demonstrates that at least from its beginning within the United States, the environmentalist movement has been all about looking down on humanity, showing immense snobbery and self-righteous hypocritical criticism of other people, and pointing to like minded environmentalists as being part of some sort of unaccountable and undemocratic elite that deserves to appropriate creation under government control. Quite honestly, unless one is already sympathetic to both the means and the ends of Muir and others of his ilk, this book makes him come off particularly poorly, and makes him a rather poor model for others to follow in. This book could have had some poetry if Muir had been a lyrical person when it came to nature, but instead what we find in this book is Muir as a technocrat and socialist with very little to offer contemporary people who appreciate God's creation but do not appreciate people like Muir being stewards over it.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] This is the following quote:
"You may be a little cold some nights, on mountain tops above the timber-line, but you will see the stars, and by and by you can sleep enough in your town bed, or at least your grave (60)."
In terms of its contents, this book contains 332 quotes that are edited and compiled in thirteen sections organized in a chronological fashion, followed by a topical index that misses my favorite would-be reference of the lot [2]. From the quotes it is fairly obvious that John Muir wrote a lot of letters and a lot of articles, and tended to reuse his quotes later on if he thought they were good ones. He also shows himself to be pretty tiresome and to have somewhat unusual hostility to sheep as well as the ordinary people upon whose efforts society depends for its survival. John Muir, at least in these pages, comes of less like someone one would have wanted to get to know and whose opinion one would value and more like someone who was a cross between a misanthropic hermit and someone who fancied himself an intellectual with a great deal of political interests and some clout among certain audiences.
In reading a book like this, one wonders what Muir was after. Was he really interested in helping to preserve creation from harm? If so, there are a lot better ways to go about it than he did. Indeed, this book demonstrates that at least from its beginning within the United States, the environmentalist movement has been all about looking down on humanity, showing immense snobbery and self-righteous hypocritical criticism of other people, and pointing to like minded environmentalists as being part of some sort of unaccountable and undemocratic elite that deserves to appropriate creation under government control. Quite honestly, unless one is already sympathetic to both the means and the ends of Muir and others of his ilk, this book makes him come off particularly poorly, and makes him a rather poor model for others to follow in. This book could have had some poetry if Muir had been a lyrical person when it came to nature, but instead what we find in this book is Muir as a technocrat and socialist with very little to offer contemporary people who appreciate God's creation but do not appreciate people like Muir being stewards over it.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
[2] This is the following quote:
"You may be a little cold some nights, on mountain tops above the timber-line, but you will see the stars, and by and by you can sleep enough in your town bed, or at least your grave (60)."
October 7, 2023
What a lovely way to be introduced to Muir. Now I just need to dive right in and start reading some of his full works.
July 13, 2014
The Editor arranged Muir’s quotes chronologically from when they were written (if known) as opposed to when they were published; giving the reader a sense of Muir’s natural and journalistic development. While digesting all the quotes the Editor had selected, I realized that my appetite for John Muir was not satiated and began to seek what the Editor has missed.
April 20, 2018
I was inspired by his Travels in Alaska, which I read while on a cruise there. This collection left quite a bit out. It also exposed an elitist attitude and condemnation of the common people. Such a shame that Muir couldn't love people as much as nature.
October 6, 2021
Interesting to read Muir's own words. I love how up front he is about his distaste for the people in his midst who are short-sighted, self-centred and careless about the natural world we are a part of and rely on. His observations are amazingly contemporary. He was a badass ahead if his time.
May 9, 2018
Good easy read to familiarize with John Muir philosophy of life and nature.
December 23, 2021
It's clear that John Muir was truly in love with nature in its purest form. I understand criticism of his negative attitude and borderline misanthropic ideals but I would argue that A) most of what he was concerned about in the late 1800's are even more of a threat today in modern industrial America and B) he did show compassion for tourists, despite his cynicism, he made it clear he was happy to see the masses returning to what clearly is a temple to him.
His views on race are not atypical for the time but still I can not condone them. His voice is similar to many other naturalists, environmentalists, and transcendentalist thinkers. No more rough around the edges than Thoreau or Abbey. So is the spirit of the rugged hermit who loves nature beyond all else.
There are some truly gorgeous quotes in this book - it is clear being an author wasn't Muir primary passion. This is a man who loved the valley more than his own self and who would've have done anything to protect it.
His views on race are not atypical for the time but still I can not condone them. His voice is similar to many other naturalists, environmentalists, and transcendentalist thinkers. No more rough around the edges than Thoreau or Abbey. So is the spirit of the rugged hermit who loves nature beyond all else.
There are some truly gorgeous quotes in this book - it is clear being an author wasn't Muir primary passion. This is a man who loved the valley more than his own self and who would've have done anything to protect it.
August 31, 2011
Wonderful way to read the words of environmentalist John Muir - selected quotes from his writings throughout his life
July 8, 2015
A great reference to use while reading other John Muir books.
March 28, 2017
The book contains a nice collection of John Muir's quotes through them you get a glimpse of his way of life, philosophy, and his deep love and respect for nature.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews