Voices Across Time

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Throughout the ages, humans have recognized the importance of being stewards of our land and water. Here are 50 notable quotations about land, water, nature, stewardship, and conservation, from ancient times to the present. Hopefully, you will find these inspiring.

1. Chinese Proverb
   “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
2. Lao Tzu
   “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
3. Socrates
   “Husbandry is the mother and nurse of the other arts.”
4. Aristotle (384–322 BCE)
   “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
5. Cicero (106–43 BCE)
   “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
6. Ovid
   “Not for one person’s delight has nature made the sun, the wind, the waters; all are free.”
7. Pueblo Proverb
   “Nature is the teacher of all things.”
8. Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
   “Praise be to You… through Sister Water, so useful, humble, precious and pure.”
9. Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
   “Water is the driving force of all nature.”
10. Francis Bacon
    “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.”
11. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    “Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.”
12. Thomas Jefferson
    “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.”
13. Alexander von Humboldt
    “Mere communion with nature, mere contact with the free air, exercise a soothing yet comforting and strengthening influence on the wearied mind, calm the storm of passion, and soften the heart when shaken by sorrow to its inmost depths.”
14. Henry David Thoreau
    “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
15. George Perkins Marsh
    “Man is everywhere a disturbing agent.”
16. John Muir
    “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
17. John Muir
    “The mountains are calling and I must go.”
18. Theodore Roosevelt
    “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”
19. Gifford Pinchot
    “Conservation is the foresighted utilization, preservation, and renewal of forests, waters, lands, and minerals, for the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time.”
20. Aldo Leopold
    “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.”
21. Aldo Leopold
    “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.”
22. Franklin D. Roosevelt
    “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
23. Rachel Carson
    “In nature nothing exists alone.”
24. Rachel Carson
    “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery—not over nature but of ourselves.”
25. Stewart Udall
    “Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.”
26. Gaylord Nelson
    “The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”
27. Jacques Cousteau
    “The water cycle and the life cycle are one.”
28. Wendell Berry
    “The Earth is what we all have in common.”
29. Chief Seattle
    “The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth.” (Popular attribution; wording likely evolved from later adaptations.)
30. Baba Dioum
    “In the end, we will conserve only what we love.”
31. E. O. Wilson
    “Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.”
32. David Brower
    “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” (Often attributed to Brower, though the origin is uncertain.)
33. Jane Goodall
    “What you do makes a difference.”
34. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
    “It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference.”
35. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
    “When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope.”
36. Sir David Attenborough
    “No one will protect what they don’t care about.”
37. Sir David Attenborough
    “The natural world is the greatest source of excitement.”
38. Sylvia Earle
    “No water, no life. No blue, no green.”
39. Sylvia Earle
    “With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live.”
40. Thomas Berry
    “The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.”
41. Gus Speth
    “The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy.”
42. Ban Ki-moon
    “Saving our planet… is the defining challenge of our age.”
43. Pope Francis
    “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.”
44. Greta Thunberg
    “No one is too small to make a difference.”
45. Robin Wall Kimmerer
    “All flourishing is mutual.”
46. Robin Wall Kimmerer
    “Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
47. Gary Snyder
    “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”
48. Carl Safina
    “Economists don’t seem to have noticed that the economy sits entirely within the ecology.”
49. Kristine Tompkins
    “You can’t protect a place unless you understand it. You can’t love it until you know it.”
50. António Guterres (2020s)
    “Make peace with nature.”

This collection spans over three millennia and illustrates how ideas about stewardship evolved from ancient religious and philosophical traditions to modern concepts of ecology, biodiversity, watershed protection, and sustainable land management.

Inspired to contribute to conservation efforts for the future? Well, conservation is what The Conservation Foundation has been doing every day for over 50 years. We can all do more together than we can alone. Join our collective momentum – become a member today!

And please let us know of any quotes that have inspired you as well!

By Steve Stawarz, Oak Brook
DuPage County Community Council Member