John Muir

Natural History American 1838 – 1914 95 quotes

Father of national parks who wrote that in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

Quotes by John Muir

To see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower; hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.

Inspired

Every time I pause I catch it: motion, infinite motion, not of sun and moon but of systems, galaxies, space itself moving.

Book 1911

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn.

Book 1911

Wilderness is not only a place, but a state of mind.

Speech

In the Sierra Nevada, near Yosemite, the world is different.

Journal 1868

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!

Book 1911

The tufted foothills... are clothed with a rich growth of chaparral.

Book 1894

I am in the woods, and they are in me.

Letter

Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.

Book 1901

The Yosemite is so much alive, so full of humanity.

Book 1912

We are now in the mountains, and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver.

Book 1911

The glaciers... are God's great sculptors.

Book 1894

One should go to the woods to find peace.

Interview

The stars... are campfires in the sky.

Book 1911

Conservation is a great moral issue.

Speech 1890

The beauty of the natural world lies in its harmony.

Book 1916

I never tried to save the world; I just tried to save one valley.

Interview

The winds... will blow their own freshness into you.

Book 1901

Rocks and waters, etc., are words of God, and so are mountains.

Book 1911

The Sierra Nevada... is a range of light.

Magazine 1873