They are beautiful, heart-rendingly beautiful, those…
““They are beautiful, heart-rendingly beautiful, those wilds, with a quality of wide-eyed, unsung, innocent surrender that my lacquered, toy-bright Swiss villages and exhaustively lauded Alps no longer possess. Innumerable lovers have clipped and kissed on the trim turf of old-world mountainsides, on the innerspring moss, by a handy, hygienic rill, on rustic benches under the initialed oaks, and in so many cabanes in so so many beech forests. But in the Wilds of America the open-air lover will not find it easy to indulge in the most ancient of all crimes and pastimes. Poisonous plants burn his sweetheart's buttocks, nameless insects sting his; sharp items of the forest floor prick his knees, insects hers; and all around there abides a sustained rustle of potential snakes--que dis-je,of semi-extinct dragons!--while the crablike seeds of ferocious flowers cling, in a hideous green crust, to gartered black sock and sloppy white sock alike.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The wild American landscape is both beautiful and perilous, contrasting with sanitized European scenes.
In simple terms: Wild nature is beautiful but dangerous.
Key Takeaway
Respect nature’s power and beauty.
Themes
nature
beauty
danger
contrast
Mood
adventurous
poetic
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- hiking
- travel
- photography
- conservation
- outdoor writing
Key Concepts
romanticism
environmental perception
Questions to Reflect On
- What draws you to wild places?
- How do you balance awe and safety?
A Different Perspective
The quote idealizes danger, overlooking safety.