Edward Abbey: Wilderness

Edward Abbey was American author and essayist. Explore interesting quotes on wilderness.

Edward Abbey: 292 quotes15 likes

“If wilderness is outlawed, only outlaws can save wilderness.”

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990)

“Wilderness. The word itself is music.”

Edward Abbey book Desert Solitaire

Source: Desert Solitaire

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.”

Edward Abbey book Desert Solitaire

"Down the River", p. 148
Desert Solitaire (1968)

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

"Shadows from the Big Woods", p. 223
The Journey Home (1977)

“Somewhere in the depths of solitude, beyond wilderness and freedom, lay the trap of madness.”

Edward Abbey book The Monkey Wrench Gang

Source: The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975)

“Why this cult of wilderness?… because we like the taste of freedom; because we like the smell of danger.”

Source: The Serpents of Paradise: A Reader

“I thought of the wilderness we had left behind us, open to sea and sky, joyous in its plenitude and simplicity, perfect yet vulnerable, unaware of what is coming, defended by nothing, guarded by no one.”

Source: Beyond the Wall: Essays from the Outside

“We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may not ever need to go there.”

Edward Abbey book Desert Solitaire

"The Heart of Noon", p. 116
Desert Solitaire (1968)

“But the love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see. Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of this natural paradise which lies all around us — if only we were worthy of it.”

Edward Abbey book Desert Solitaire

"Down the River", p. 147
Desert Solitaire (1968)

“I come more and more to the conclusion that wilderness, in America or anywhere else, is the only thing left that is worth saving.”

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990)

“Enjoy our great American West -- climb those mountains, run those rivers, hike those canyons, explore those forests, and share in the bounty of wilderness, friendship, love, and the common effort to save what we love. Do this and we will be strong, and bold, and happy, we will outlive our enemies, we will live to piss on their graves.”

Remarks https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/edward-abbey-remarks-glen-canyon-dam-spring-equinox-1981, Glen Canyon Dam, Spring Equinox 1981.

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”

Edward Abbey book Down the River

"Down the River", p. 148
Desert Solitaire (1968)

“My job is to save the fucking wilderness. I don't know anything else worth saving.”

Edward Abbey book The Monkey Wrench Gang

George Hayduke, page 229
The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975)