Quotes from Edward Abbey

The very poor are strictly materialistic. It takes money to be a mystic.

Wilderness. The word itself is music.

I hold no preference among flowers, so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous.

It is not enough to understand the natural world; the point is to defend and preserve it.

The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders. Remaining silent about the destruction of nature is an endorsement of that destruction.

Grown men do not need leaders.

What is the purpose of the giant sequoia tree? The purpose of the giant sequoia tree is to provide shade for the tiny titmouse.

The industrial corporation is the natural enemy of nature.

The earth, like the sun, like the air, belongs to everyone - and to no one.

It seems clear at last that our love for the natural world-Nature-is the only means by which we can requite God's obvious love for it.

Passion, sexual passion, may lead to marriage, but cannot sustain marriage. The purpose of marriage is the raising of children, for which patience, not passion, is the necessary foundation.

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.

Most of us lead lives of chaotic improvisation from day to day, bawling for peace while plunging grimly into fresh disorders.

I hate intellectual discussion. When I hear the words 'phenomenology' or 'structuralism', I reach for my buck knife.

In metaphysics, the notion that earth and all that's on it is a mental construct is the product of people who spend their lives inside rooms. It is an indoor philosophy.

Reply to Plato: I seen horses I seen cows I haint never yet seen horsiness nor that there bovinity neither.

Every man has two vocations: his own and philosophy.

Poetry -- even bad poetry -- may be our final hope.

Despair leads to boredom, electronic games, computer hacking, poetry and other bad habits.

Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top.

Whatever we cannot easily understand we call God; this saves much wear and tear on the brain tissues.

Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best.

Defiance is beautiful. The defiance of power, especially great or overwhelming power, exalts and glorifies the rebel.

A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear.