QuotesCosmos
Terry Gifford, EWDB, pages 243-244
“

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves. No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself.

— John Muir

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings, while incense is ever flowing from the balsam bells and leaves. No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself." in the context of "Terry Gifford, EWDB, pages 243-244" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "John Muir" (Quotes, 1860s, My First Summer in the Sierra, 1869: My First Summer in the Sierra (1911) [Note: the events that take place in this book were experienced in the late spring and summer of 1869. His journal from this time is believed to no longer exist. In late 1880s, Muir recalled his 1869 trip (likely using his 1869 journal) into a notebook called Sierra Journal Summer of 1869. This late 1880s notebook became his 1911 published book, My First Summer in the Sierra - forty years after the events.]) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#John Muir#every#enthusiasm#cathedrals#throbbing#thrilling#swirling#branches#glorious#churches#minutes#excited
John Muir

About John Muir

John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization.