Inspirational Quotes by Edward Abbey

You can't belay a man who's falling in love.

— Edward Abbey

Only a fool is astonished by the foolishness of mankind.

— Edward Abbey

The industrial corporation is the natural enemy of nature.

— Edward Abbey

One thing worse than self-hatred is chiggers.

— Edward Abbey

The hawk's cry is as sharp as its beak.

— Edward Abbey

The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.

— Edward Abbey

The rich are not very nice. That's why they're rich.

— Edward Abbey

Books are like eggs -- best when fresh.

— Edward Abbey

It's true: Every time you kill an elk, you're saving some cow's life.

— Edward Abbey

The more fantastic an ideology or theology, the more fanatic its adherents.

— Edward Abbey

Most new books drop immediately into the oblivion they so richly deserve.

— Edward Abbey

Most of the literary classics are worth reading, if you've nothing better to do.

— Edward Abbey

What draws us into the desert is the search for something intimate in the remote.

— Edward Abbey

It is always dishonest for a reviewer to review the author instead of the author's book.

— Edward Abbey

War? The one war I'd be happy to join is the war against officers.

— Edward Abbey

There's nothing so obscene and depressing as an American Christmas.

— Edward Abbey

Going to bed with Gertrude Stein, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Susan Sontag, or Margaret Thatcher: There are some things one prefers neither to do…

— Edward Abbey

It is not death or dying that is tragic, but rather to have existed without fully participating in life- that is the…

— Edward Abbey

Why administrators are respected and schoolteachers are not: An administrator is paid a lot for doing very little, while a teacher is…

— Edward Abbey

New Yorkers like to boast that if you can survive in New York, you can survive anywhere. But if you can survive…

— Edward Abbey

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

— Edward Abbey

Men love their ideas more than their lives. And the more preposterous the idea, the more eager they are to die for…

— Edward Abbey

It is not the writer's task to answer questions but to question answers. To be impertinent, insolent, and, if necessary, subversive.

— Edward Abbey

Science transcends mere politics. As recent history demonstrates, scientists are as willing to work for a Tojo, a Hitler, or a Stalin…

— Edward Abbey

Life is cruel? Compared to what?

— Edward Abbey

There is a kind of poetry in simple fact.

— Edward Abbey

Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.

— Edward Abbey

Life is unfair. And it's not fair that life is unfair.

— Edward Abbey

Simplicity is always a virtue.

— Edward Abbey

Girls: I never wanted them all. Just all the ones I wanted.

— Edward Abbey

There are no vacant lots in nature.

— Edward Abbey

Women who love only women may have a good point.

— Edward Abbey

Humility is a virtue when you have no other.

— Edward Abbey

Those who fear death most are those who enjoy life least.

— Edward Abbey

When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.

— Edward Abbey

A life without tragedy would not be worth living.

— Edward Abbey

The dog's life is a good life, for a dog.

— Edward Abbey

Man was created to complete the horse.

— Edward Abbey

I have been a lucky man. But someone has to be.

— Edward Abbey

Life imitates art -- but badly.

— Edward Abbey