Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, this it overflows upon the outward world.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep appreciation for the beauty and wonder of nature, particularly the process of cultivation and growth.
In this quote, Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects on the profound joy and love he feels for his garden and the plants he nurtures. His experience of witnessing the growth of his vegetable plants fills him with a unique sense of connection to nature, which he believes cannot be fully understood by those who have not engaged in the act of creation and cultivation themselves. This highlights the intimate relationship between a gardener and their plants, suggesting that the act of growing is not merely a task but a deeply rewarding experience that enriches the soul.
Themes
NatureGardeningCreationGrowthAppreciation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a gardening workshop to inspire participants about the joys of cultivating plants.
More from Nathaniel Hawthorne
All quotes →A bodily disease which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
All merely graceful attributes are usually the most evanescent.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
There is so much wretchedness in the world, that we may safely take the word of any mortal professing to need our assistance; and, even should we be deceived, still the good to ourselves resulting from a kind act is worth more than the trifle by which we purchase it.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
Similar quotes
Human beings grew up in forests; we have a natural affinity for them. How lovely a tree is, straining toward the sky.
Carl SaganRead
Plants can't very well defend themselves by their behavior, so they resort to chemical warfare, and plants are saturated with toxins and irritants to deter creatures like us who want to eat them.
Steven PinkerRead
We think of our land and water and human resources not as static and sterile possessions but as life giving assets to be directed by wise provisions for future days.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Animals are our younger brothers and sisters, also on the ladder of evolution but a few rungs lower. It is an important part of our responsibilities to help them in their ascent, and not to retard their development by cruel exploitation of their helplessness.
Hugh Dowding, 1St Baron DowdingRead
To reenchant nature is not merely to gain a new perspective for its integrity and well-being; it is to throw open the doors to a deeper level of existence.
Alister E. McgrathRead
Tonight I can smell the season the way it's usually only possible to at the very first moments of its return, before you're used to it, when you've forgotten its smell, then there it is back in the air and the flow of things shifting and resettling again.
Ali SmithRead