Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“Our god is the wonderful law of creation, whose amazing unity of all things shows itself if wonderful flowers, in growing trees, in new born children, in the secrets of a mother, in the growth of our people, in work and accomplishment and creation, in life itself. It is the joy we have in everything. How beautiful everything is. Do you feel the same way? I am so happy to be alive.”
Robert Ley (1890–1945) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech given on March 31, 1939. Quoted in Robert Ley Die Hoheitsträger and titled "Wir oder die Juden" (May 1939), pp. 4-6.
“It's lovely having grass and trees and flowers (Of course, at times, mosquitoes are a pest). Yes, life is life out here in Rangely Towers (Of course Some People like the city best)!”
Arthur Guiterman (1871–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land.”
Thabo Mbeki (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And sorrowing I to see the sommer flowers, The lively greene, the lusty lease, forlorne, The sturdy trees so shattred with the showers, The fieldes so fade, that florisht so beforne: It taught mee well, all earthly things be borne To dye the death: for nought long time may last: The sommer's beauty yeeldes to winter's blast.”
Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536–1608) said by 1608 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Bible is like a wide and beautiful landscape seen afar off, dim and confused; but a good telescope will bring it near, and spread out all its rocks and trees and flowers and v__ulant fields and winding rivers at one's very feet. That telescope is the Spirit's teaching.”
Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847) said by 1847 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I was a kid my parents used to tell me, "Emo, don't go near the cellar door!" One day when they were away, I went up to the cellar door. And I pushed it and walked through and saw strange, wonderful things, things I had never seen before, like... trees. Grass. Flowers. The sun... that was nice... the sun..”
Emo Philips (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How vainly men themselves amaze To win the palm, the oak, or bays, And their uncessant labours see Crowned from some single herb or tree, Whose short and narrow vergéd shade Does prudently their toils upbraid, While all flowers and all trees do close To weave the garlands of repose.”
Andrew Marvell (1621–1678) first seen 1650 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Garden, stanza 1 (1650-1652)
“the streams buck like rams in a tent whips crack and from the hills come the crookedly combed shadows of the shepherds. black eggs and fools' bells fall from the trees. thunder drums and kettledrums beat upon the ears of the donkeys. wings brush against flowers. fountains spring up in the eyes of the wild boar.”
Jean Arp (1886–1966) first seen 1920 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dada poetry lines from his poem 'Der Vogel Selbdritt', Jean / Hans Arp - first published in 1920; as quoted in Gesammelte Gedichte I (transl. Herbert Read), p. 41
“The Admiral says that he never beheld so fair a thing: trees all along the river, beautiful and green, and different from ours, with flowers and fruits each according to their kind, many birds and little birds which sing very sweetly.”
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) first seen 1492 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 28 October 1492
“I love you like a river that creates the right conditions for trees and bushes and flowers to flourish along its banks. I love you like a river that gives water to the thirsty and takes people where they want to go.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thats the trouble. all i wanted was a tumble in the hay. oh, boy, i said. ill bet that cute thing is fun and games. what he doesn't know about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees, i can sure teach him”
Alice Borchardt (1939–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one before the twenty-first century had ever loved flowers and fruiting trees and little birds and the simple beauty of green leaves as did those who lived after the Famine, for whom they were precious and rare and always endangered. (four: THROUGH THE BURNING LABYRINTH)”
Marge Piercy (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Madam, this desire [for holiness] must be in you like the orange trees of the Genoese Riviera, which, for almost the entire year, are laden with fruit, flowers and leaves at the same time.”
Francis de Sales (1567–1622) said by 1622 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In medieval Europe, monks grew vegetables, herbs, flowers, berries, and fruit trees together for mutual benefit. You should plan plant populations relative to the root level each species occupies in the soil relative to the feeding capacity of each species.”
“There was a gulmohar tree in the lane, the flaming orange flowers erupting from within, and banyan trees, private and removed as ancient pilgrims.”
Amit Chaudhuri (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then the Messenger gathered the little children and took them into the forest, saying, “These are your flowers, your streams, your trees. No one has followed us. I shall rest—and be you filled with joy.” Thereupon timidly they ventured into the forest.”
Helena Roerich (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An enormous fig tree let fall its flat leaves and its lilac coloured fruit like a carpet over the balustrade. On the left the park was massed with its magnolias which had already lost their flowers, its shuddering eucalyptus, its squat Japanese palms, its magnificent lunar sago trees. A hedge of aloes hemmed in the dark garden and the plain stretched beyond, to the Stars.”
Pierre Louÿs (1870–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People living in Zomba and surrounding areas should take the responsibility of planting trees, flowers to restore the lost glory of the district.”
Gertrude Maseko (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Passing by the mountain village of —a quaint, artsy town known for its Saturday tourist markets—the changed abruptly to open . Stately rainforest trees were replaced by s, s and s, with a ground layer of punctuated by large, oddly shaped . s and s, their flowers shaped like bottle-brushes, grew in dense clumps along a few meandering creeks.”
William F. Laurance (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sunn must lend his goulden beames, Soft windes their breath, green trees their shade, Sweete fields their flowers, cleare springs their streams, Ere such another smyle bee made.”
Aurelian Townshend (1583–1649) said by 1649 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, "Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.”
Ann Coulter (born 1961) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Making references to Dominionism and Genesis 1:28, on Hannity & Colmes (June 20, 2001).
“Before the gods and after, always, are the streams. Caves, stones, hills. Trees. The earth. The darkness of the earth.”
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friend of my heart! Among the Autumn trees We walk together baring thought to thought Of this vast symbol-earth wherein lie wrought Hints of immortal dreams and destinies! And you and I are part of all of these! Ourselves mysterious emblems, tones half-caught From voices far, wherein our souls have sought Deep meanings, silent, 'mid earth's melodies.”
Arthur Upson (1877–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Springtide of the Soul" in Collected Poems, ed. Richard Burton, Vol. 2 (1909), p. 46
“The light would reach us more quickly in the morning and fade more slowly at night if the whole earth were divided into vast flower beds that called forth the light at dawn and clutched it longer at nightfall. Nature instituted summer for flowers long before man took summer over for his own uses.”
Malcolm de Chazal (1902–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...observe that in all the propaganda of the ecologists—amidst all their appeals to nature and pleas for 'harmony with nature'—there is no discussion of man's needs and the requirements of his survival. Man is treated as if he were an unnatural phenomenon. Man cannot survive in the kind of state of nature that the ecologists envision—i.e., on the level of sea urchins or polar bears...”
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the western world our thinking has for many centuries been dominated by the Jewish-Christian concept of man's relation to nature, in which man is regarded as the master of all the earth's inhabitants. Out of this there easily grew the thought that everything on earth-animate or inanimate, animal, vegetable, or mineral-and indeed the earth itself-had been created expressly for man.”
Rachel Carson (1907–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just as we get sick physically, the earth is sick too. When people are sick, they need to be treated and saved. When the earth is sick, it also needs everyone to care for it and save it. To save the earth, we must begin with environmental preservation. On the other hand, the protection of nature depends on humanity to self-awaken, which also starts with preservation of the spiritual environment.”
Hsing Yun (1927–2023) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: [http://www.hsilai.org/en/fd/2010.php
“Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night," he had said. "You must not try to be definite and sure about it and to live beneath the trees, where soft night winds blow, the long hot day of disappointment comes swiftly and the gritty dust from passing wagons gathers upon lips inflamed and made tender by kisses.”
Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the character has the motivation to dance round trees, then I will dance round trees. If the motivation is strong enough, then I'll fly to the moon.”
Rahul Bose (born 1967) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Rediff, April 4, 1997. "If the motivation is strong enough, I'll fly to the moon" by Suparn Varma
“Am I not among the early risers and the long-distance walkers? Have I not stood, amazed, as I consider the perfection of the morning star above the peaks of the houses, and the crowns of the trees blue in the first light? Do I not see how the trees tremble, as though sheets of water flowed over them though it is only wind, that common thing, free to everyone, and everything?”
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.”
Sennacherib (745–681 BC) said by 681 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mankind had come so far in some ways, and in others remained up in the trees, chittering and throwing rocks at each other. If only the trees weren’t so close together. If only the rocks were smaller.”
Larry Niven (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Where the tender rinds of trees disclose Their shooting germs, a swelling knot there grows; Just in that place a narrow slit we make, Then other buds from bearing trees we take; Inserted thus, the wounded rind we close.”
John Dryden (1631–1700) said by 1700 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Trees are not 'trees', until so named and seen — and never were so named, till those had been who speech's involuted breath unfurled, faint echo and dim picture of the world.”
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How wonderful is Cold Mountain Climbers are all afraid The moon shines on clear water twinkle twinkle Wind rustles the tall grass Plum trees flower in the snow Bare twisted trees have clouds for foliage A touch of rain brings it all alive Unless you see clearly do not approach”
“A political country is like an American forest; you have only to cut down the old trees, and immediately new trees come up to replace them.”
Walter Bagehot (1826–1877) said by 1877 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We all travel the milky way together, trees and men; but it never occurred to me until this storm-day, while swinging in the wind, that trees are travelers, in the ordinary sense. They make many journeys, not very extensive ones, it is true; but our own little comes and goes are only little more than tree-wavings — many of them not so much.”
John Muir (1838–1914) first seen 1878 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Wind Storm in the Forests of the Yuba", Scribner's Monthly, volume XVII, number 1 (November 1878) pages 55-59 (at page 59); modified slightly and reprinted in The Mountains of California (1894), chapter 10: A Wind-Sto…
“Few are altogether deaf to the preaching of pine trees. Their sermons on the mountains go to our hearts; and if people in general could be got into the woods, even for once, to hear the trees speak for themselves, all difficulties in the way of forest preservation would vanish.”
John Muir (1838–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was left behind with the immensity of existing things. A sponge, suffering because it cannot saturate itself; a river, suffering because reflections of clouds and trees are not clouds and trees.”
Czesław Miłosz (1911–2004) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Esse" (1954), trans. Czesław Miłosz and Robert Pinsky
“And if California slides into the ocean Like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill.Don't the sun look angry through the trees? Don't the trees look like crucified thieves? Don't you feel like Desperados under the eaves? Heaven help the one who leaves.”
Warren Zevon (1947–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“From where the Witch's fortress O'er hangs the dark-blue seas; From the still glassy lake that sleeps Beneath Aricia's trees— Those trees in whose dim shadow The ghastly priest doth reign, The priest who slew the slayer, And shall himself be slain.”
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the juices of trees have no means of escape, they clot and rot in them, making the trees hollow and good for nothing.”
Vitruvius (80–15 BC) said by 15 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now there's no more oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe and saw -- The Trees (1978)”
Neil Peart (1952–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Young trees need stakes to support them, but the stakes must be removed once the trees begin to grow, precisely so not to hinder their growth.”
Leopold II of Belgium (1835–1909) first seen 1901 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leopold II, King of the Belgians in a letter to his minister, Charles Woeste, dated June 9, 1901.
“Birds' songs express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally. The trees, the water, and the air don't ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy them. By destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves.”
Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social Change (1993), p. 131
“Where this area had been beautiful with its many trees and bright grass and the colored blooms of the vines that covered the trees, it was now like a battlefield. It had been necessary to create ugliness to build a beautiful boat.”
Philip José Farmer (1918–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Harmony: A single candle can lit a thousand candles without losing anything. It is the multitude of trees that make a forest. Let us be like those shining candles and useful trees benefitting all sentient beings.”
Thích Nhật Từ (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Overmature trees: In timber company and Forest Service lingo, trees which may live in splendor for another 500 years, but which would make damned fine boards today.”
Edward S. Herman (1925–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The seed of God is in us, Meister Eckhart said. "Pear seeds grow into pear trees, nut seeds into nut trees, and God seed into G o d .”
Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“if trees could talk wonder what they'd say met an old man ...told me "girl! my hands seen more than all them books... at tuskeegee" ...met an old woman ..."sista" she called to me "...my feet seen more than yo eyes ever gonna read" ...if trees would talk wonder what they'd tell me”
Nikki Giovanni (1943–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source