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Nature

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• “A narrow room our glory vain upties, A little circle doth our pride contain, Earth like an isle amid the water lies, Which sea sometime is called, sometime the main, Yet naught therein responds a name so great, It's but a lake, a pond, a marish strait.”

  Edward Fairfax (1580–1635) said by 1635 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Driving through rain with you, / in a sea of rain / I saw only the bridges, their railings, / the passing lanes, / when the earth rose into my eyes / I heard, I heard that I had loved.”

  Mirkka Rekola (1931–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The bodies which I distilled... (Fig. 38.) were Horn, calculus humanus, Oystershell, Oak, Mustard seed, Indian-wheat, se, Tobacco, oil of Anniseed, oil of Olives, Honey, Wax, Sugar, , , Earth, Walton Mineral, sea Salt, Salt-petre, Tartar, Sal Tartar, , Minium.”

  Stephen Hales (1677–1761) said by 1761 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “One human life is deeper than the ocean. Strange fishes and sea-monsters and mighty plants live in the rock-bed of our spirits. The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us. The sky is inside us. The earth is in us.”

  Ben Okri (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Ebbing: disappearing, becoming of the sea. Flowing: returning, rolling on the sands, returned to earth.”

  Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “As god of the waters, that is, of the ocean and of all the waters of the earth, whence his titles: «the master of the waters, the lord of the coasts, the sovereign of the sea, the king, the chief, the lord of the abyss », Sumerian Ea was the protector of fishermen and sailors, a character which he also preserved in Babylonian myth and in the Assyrian cult. (p. 47)”

  Domenico Bassi (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The earth bore thee, the sea destroyed thee, and Pluto’s seat received thee, and thence thou didst ascend to heaven. Thou didst not perish in the deep, Pamphilus, as one shipwrecked, but in order to add an ornament to the domains of all the immortals.”

  Pamphilus of Alexandria (100–100) said by 100 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Sometimes, the waves grow hushed, but the sea is always there, touching, caressing, eating the earth.... (chapter 6, p249)”

  Keri Hulme (1947–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “They saw the stars in heaven hung, They saw the great Sea's birth, They know the ancient pain that wrung The entrails of the Earth.”

  Frederick George Scott (1861–1944) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The Storm", st. 7, in A Hymn of Empire and Other Poems (Toronto, 1906), p. 12

• “Situated on an island which I think it will one day cover, it rises like Venice from the sea, and like that fairest of cities in the days of her glory, receives into its lap tribute of all the riches of the earth.”

  Frances Milton Trollope (1780–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “O, England's full of Englishmen And France is full of French, And Italy has sons enough To fill up ev'ry trench; But what are we across the sea Who come from all the earth To the land that gives us freedom,— Though it did not give us birth? O, we are all Americans, And when we come away From England, France and Italy, We swore we came to stay.”

  Fanny Hodges Newman (1862–1946) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: We Are All Americans", sts. 1–3 (1918)

• “Great Western Land whose mighty breast Between two oceans finds its rest, Begirt with storm on either side, And washed by strong Pacific tide; The knowledge of thy wondrous birth Gave balance to the rounded earth. In sea of darkness thou didst stand Now first in light, my Western Land.”

  Caroline Hazard (1856–1945) first seen 1893 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The Western Land", st. 1. An attempt at a national song, written at the request of a Rhode Island Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Printed in The American Monthly Magazine, vol. 3, no. 5 (Nov. 1893) …

• “'And on your buried Genoa | not a handful of earth but | a cascade of dry leaves | with the face of Marx. | In your solitude full of faces | of children and soldiers | have you ever wondered | why challenge the sea?”' (p. 136)”

  Fabrizio De André (1940–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The heart of the sailor is always dry, warming itself around the fire. The sailor does not love the sea: he works on it and fears it. He dreams of always having the earth under his feet, remembering the aromas, faces and flavours of home.”

  Fabrizio De André (1940–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The rise of the Earth's temperature, causing sea level increases that could add up to one foot over the next 30 years, threatens the very existence of New Orleans.”

  Ray Nagin (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his confine.”

  William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source

• “Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, But sad mortality o'ersways their power, How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Whose action is no stronger than a flower?”

  William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source

• “Never before have I lived through a storm like the one this night. ... The sea has a look of indescribable grandeur, especially when the sun falls on it. One feels as if one is dissolved and merged into Nature. Even more than usual, one feels the insignificance of the individual, and it makes one happy.”

  Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Entry in a travel diary (10 December 1931) discussing a storm at sea, p. 23

• “For nature beats in perfect tune, And rounds with rhyme her every rune, Whether she work in land or sea, Or hide underground her alchemy. Thou canst not wave thy staff in air, Or dip thy paddle in the lake, But it carves the bow of beauty there, And the ripples in rhymes the oar forsake.”

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “So extravagant is Nature with her choicest treasures, spending plant beauty as she spends sunshine, pouring it forth into land and sea, garden and desert. And so the beauty of lilies falls on angels and men, bears and squirrels, wolves and sheep, birds and bees,... .”

  John Muir (1838–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “And thus He mused: "From here, indeed Shall we strike terror in the Swede? And here a city by our labor Founded, shall gall our haughty neighbor; "Here cut" - so Nature gives command - Your window through on Europe; stand Firm-footed by the sea, unchanging!”

  Aleksandr Pushkin (1799–1837) first seen 1833 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The Bronze Horseman (1833).

• “The use of the sea and air is common to all; neither can a title to the ocean belong to any people or private persons, forasmuch as neither nature nor public use and custom permit any possession thereof.”

  Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603) first seen 1580 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: To the Spanish Ambassador (1580)

• “[I]t is a pretty shocking observation that the Queen is to be the guarantee for a loan of this extraordinary nature made by the Dutch, and especially at a time, when under pretence of disability they directly refuse to furnish their quotas for the sea service, in spight of the obligations of all sorts, which lye upon them to do otherwise.”

  Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751) first seen 1709 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Lord Orrery (6 April 1711), quoted in 'The Letters of Henry St. John to the Earl of Orrery, 1709–1711', ed. H. T. Dickinson, Camden Miscellany, Vol. XXVI (1975), p. 164

• “Blue has no dimensions, it is beyond dimensions, whereas the other colours are not. They are pre-psychological expanses, red, for example, presupposing a site radiating heat.. .All colours arouse specific associative ideas, psychologically material or tangible, while blue suggests at most the sea and sky, and they, after all, are in actual, visible nature what is most abstract.”

  Yves Klein (1928–1962) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quote from Yves Klein's lecture at the Sorbonne in 1959; published in Studio International, Vol. 186 (1973), p. 43; also quoted in: David Batchelor (2008) Colour. p. 122

• “Since the French Revolutionaries set up the guillotine, the same thing has been true. Revolutions are all based on the false idea that humans and their nature can be changed. And once changed, they will fit neatly into the Utopia that is planned for them. Utopia, as we find every so often in Russia, China and Cambodia, can only be approached across a sea of blood, and you never actually arrive.”

  Peter Hitchens (born 1951) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The transgender zealots are destroying truth itself", The Mail on Sunday (19 November 2017).

• “Look at the resplendent colours on the soap bubbles! Why is the sea blue? What makes diamond glitter! Ask the right questions, and nature will open the doors to her secrets”

  C. V. Raman (1888–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “As Scots our Celtic heritage ties us closely together. It binds us with our cousins in Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic and Wales. And with other Europeans lucky to blessed with good weather. We have Celtic cousins in Brittany, Galicia and Cornwall. Our is a heritage shared in a love of music and song, of poetry - and a special affinity with the sea and with nature.”

  Alex Salmond (1954–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I have rented a room in Scheveningen to make studies from nature. It is a room with view on the sea; I hope to make there beautiful things, and to keep moving forward. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”

  Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831–1915) first seen 1831 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: In a letter to his Belgium friend A. Verwee, 28 Mai 1871; as cited in Hendrik Willem Mesdag 1831 – 1915; De Schilder van de Noordzee, Johan Poort; Mesdag Documentaire Stichting cop, ISBN 90-74192-14-9; 2001, p. 17

• “At the coast you can see the most beautiful sea. I also made my panorama there. I regard it as my most important work; because it gives such a huge impression of nature. But I don't like to start it all again; to paint sixteen hundred meters of canvas there.. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”

  Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831–1915) first seen 1881 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quote of Mesdag (after 1881), cited by Godfried Bomans?, in magazine De Volkskrant, 23 July, 1966

• “[W]e are a part of Nature, we human beings, just as truly a part of the universe of things as the insect or the sea. And are we not as much entitled to be considered in the selection of a model as the part 'red in tooth and claw'? At the feet of the tiger is a good place to study the dentition of the cat family, but it is a poor place to learn ethics.”

  J. Howard Moore (1862–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Nature contains many pathways of clockwise and counterclockwise spirals that are called reciprocal spirals. One example of natural reciprocal spirals is the sea shell. If one takes the tip of that shell and draws it outward, the formation becomes a helix... very similar to the shape of the heart.”

  Gerald Buckberg (1935–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I love the innovative nature of Olumide Popoola’s writings across literary genres and so I’m very much looking forward to her forthcoming novel, Like Water Like Sea. I am also looking forward to Hala Alyan’s new poetry collection: The Moon That Turns You Back.”

  Sarah Ladipo Manyika (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I’m interested in exploring matters related to gender, social justice, the environment and educational policy. I love spending time in nature, roaming around forests and swimming in the sea”

  Paula Herrera (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Before the Sea and Lande were made, and Heaven that all doth hide, In all the worlde one onely face of nature did abide, Which Chaos hight, a huge rude heape, and nothing else but even A heavie lump and clottred clod of seedes togither driven, Of things at strife among themselves, for want of order due.”

  Arthur Golding (1536–1606) said by 1606 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “What the miners do to nature is very gruesome. I visit mining places and I see huge holes everywhere and red liquid flowing to the sea. Awful!”

  Gina Lopez (1953–2019) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: https://www.filipinoscribe.com/2013/03/23/gina-lopez-anti-mining-advocate/

• “The risks are rapidly growing not only for those in coastal communities, as climate change drives rising sea levels, warmer oceans and increasingly ferocious cyclones. We need to recalibrate our strategies on climate change adaptation, invest in blue carbon initiatives, and embrace the available solutions that nature presents to us.”

  Loren Legarda (born 1960) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/27/legarda-blue-carbon-economy-key-to-climate-change-adaptation/

• “I've found peace in slowing down, raising my beautiful babies by the sea, with nature all around,”

  Andi Eigenmann (born 1990) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: . "Andi Eigenman reflects on island life as she marks 35th birthday." June 26, 2025.

• “Tribe follows tribe, nations follow nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.”

  Chief Seattle (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more.”

  Lord Byron (1788–1824) said by 1824 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source

• “I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds and bowers, Of April, May, of June and July-flowers; I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes, Of bridegrooms, brides and of their bridal cakes; I write of youth, of love, and have access By these to sing of cleanly wantonness.”

  Robert Herrick (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Fall on me like a silent dew, Or like those maiden showers Which, by the peep of day, do strew A baptism o’er the flowers.”

  Robert Herrick (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Also quoted by: Robert Herrick

• “Go, happy rose, and interwove With other flowers, bind my love. Tell her, too, she must not be Longer flowing, longer free, That so oft has fetter'd me.”

  Robert Herrick (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Love not! love not! ye hopeless sons of clay; Hope’s gayest wreaths are made of earthly flowers— Things that are made to fade and fall away, Ere they have blossomed for a few short hours.”

  Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton (1808–1877) said by 1877 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “May the tree of our life be firmly rooted in the soil of love. Let good deeds be the leaves on that tree; May words of kindness form its flowers; May peace be its fruit. Let us grow and unfold as one family, united in love.”

  Mata Amritanandamayi (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The heart does not talk, it is the intellect that does all the talking. All dealings are at the intellectual level. We have become like machines; our very lives have become mechanical. Life has lost its naturalness — like a garland of plastic flowers. There is no heart in life anymore. Only when hearts come together does true life blossom.”

  Mata Amritanandamayi (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “A snow of blossoms and a wild of flowers.”

  Thomas Tickell (1685–1740) first seen 1722 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Kensington Garden (1722).

• “True, thy fault is great, But we are many that will plead for thee; We and our sisters, dwellers in the streams That murmur blithely to the joyous mood, And dolefully to sadness. Not a nook In darkest woods but some of us are there, To watch the flowers, that else would die unseen.”

  Hartley Coleridge (1796–1849) said by 1849 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I do not ask that flowers should always spring Beneath my feet I know too well the poison and the sting Of things too sweet.”

  Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Flowers are Love's truest language.”

  Park Benjamin Sr. (1809–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Sonnet, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

• “Some reckon time by stars, And some by hours: Some measure days by dreams, And some by flowers: My heart alone records My days and hours.”

  Madison Cawein (1865–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

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