“The intimate rapport with nature is one of the most precious things in life. Nature is indeed very close to us; sometimes closer than hands and feet, of which in truth she is but the extension. The emotional appeal of nature is tremendous, sometimes almost more than one can bear.”

—  Jan Smuts

Source: Holism and Evolution (1926), p. 337

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The intimate rapport with nature is one of the most precious things in life. Nature is indeed very close to us; sometim…" by Jan Smuts?
Jan Smuts photo
Jan Smuts 30
military leader, politician and statesman from South Africa 1870–1950

Related quotes

Brian Jacques photo
Hermann Hesse photo

“But there is good and reason in us, in human beings, with whom fortune plays, and we can be stronger than nature and fate, if only for a few hours. And we can draw close to one another in times of need, understand and love one another, and live to comfort each other. And sometimes, when the black depths are silent, we can do even more. We can then be gods for moments, stretch out a commanding hand and create things which were not there before and which, when they are created, continue to live without us.”

Source: Gertrude (1910), p. 236
Context: It was no different with my own life, and with Gertrude's and that of many others. Fate was not kind, life was capricious and terrible, and there was no good or reason in nature. But there is good and reason in us, in human beings, with whom fortune plays, and we can be stronger than nature and fate, if only for a few hours. And we can draw close to one another in times of need, understand and love one another, and live to comfort each other. And sometimes, when the black depths are silent, we can do even more. We can then be gods for moments, stretch out a commanding hand and create things which were not there before and which, when they are created, continue to live without us. Out of sounds, words, and other frail and worthless things, we can construct playthings — songs and poems full of meaning, consolation and goodness, more beautiful and enduring than the grim sport of fortune and destiny. We can keep the spirit of God in our hearts and, at times, when we are full of Him, He can appear in our eyes and our words, and also talk to others who do no know or do not wish to know Him. We cannot evade life's course, but we can school ourselves to be superior to fortune and also to look unflinchingly upon the most painful things.

Albert Schweitzer photo

“It belongs to the nature of mysticism that it is timeless and appeals to no other authority than that of the truth which it carries within it.”

Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher

Source: Indian Thought And Its Development (1936), Ch. XVI : Looking Backward and Forward, p. 256
Context: We await the Indian thinker who will expound to us the mysticism of spiritual union with infinite Being as it is in itself, not as it is set down in the ancient texts or according to the meaning read into them by their interpreters.
It belongs to the nature of mysticism that it is timeless and appeals to no other authority than that of the truth which it carries within it.
The pathway from imperfect to perfect recognised truth leads through the valley of reality.

Barbara Kingsolver photo

“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.”

Barbara Kingsolver (1955) American author, poet and essayist

Source: Homeland and Other Stories

George Bernard Shaw photo

“Home life as we understand it is no more natural to us than a cage is natural to a cockatoo.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Preface
1900s, Getting Married (1908)

“The things that are most precious to us are sometimes the most secret.”

Ally Carter (1974) American writer

Source: Perfect Scoundrels

William F. Buckley Jr. photo
John Galsworthy photo
Colum McCann photo

Related topics