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If the life of natural things, millions of years old, does not seem sacred to us, then what can be sacred? Human vanity alone? Contempt for the natural world implies contempt for life. The domination of nature leads to the domination of human nature.

— Edward Abbey Beyond the Wall: Essays from the Outside (1984)

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Nature

More quotes by Edward Abbey

Come on in. The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone — and to no one.

The Journey Home (1977)

The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders.

The Journey Home (1977)

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

Desert Solitaire (1968)

The earth will survive our most ingenious folly.

The Journey Home (1977)

Heaven is home. Utopia is here. Nirvana is now.

Abbey's Road (1979)

All Edward Abbey quotes →

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Utu, shepherd of the land, father of the black-headed, when you go to sleep, the people go to sleep with you; youth Utu, when you rise, the people rise with you.

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The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

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Matter gave birth to a passion that has no equal, which proceeded from something contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance in its whole body.

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Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Edward Abbey (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.