Richard Jefferies

To the soul, there is no past and no future; all is, and will be ever, in now. For artificial purposes time…

— Richard Jefferies

A man, to read, must read alone. He may make extracts, he may work at books in company; but to read, to…

— Richard Jefferies

Grief falls upon human beings as the rain, not selecting good or evil, visiting the innocent, condemning those who have done no…

— Richard Jefferies

Ever since the world began, it has been the belief of mankind that desolate places are the special haunt of supernatural beings.

— Richard Jefferies

Now is eternity; now is the immortal life.

— Richard Jefferies

The labourer's muscle is that of a cart-horse, his motions lumbering and slow.

— Richard Jefferies

When even the most strictly logical mind looks round and investigates the phenomena attending its own existence, perhaps the first fact to…

— Richard Jefferies

It is quite true that women like courage, and that boldness often goes a long way; but it is questionable whether with…

— Richard Jefferies

It would seem that the ant works its way tentatively, and, observing where it fails, tries another place and succeeds.

— Richard Jefferies

The impression left after watching the motions of birds is that of extreme mobility - a life of perpetual impulse checked only…

— Richard Jefferies

The 'crownd' is still the unit, the favourite coin of the labourers, especially the elder folk. They use the word something in…

— Richard Jefferies

I desire a greatness of soul, an irradiance of mind, a deeper insight, a broader hope.

— Richard Jefferies

The lover of nature has the highest art in his soul.

— Richard Jefferies

Give me power of soul, so that I may actually effect by its will that which I strive for.

— Richard Jefferies

It is injurious to the mind as well as to the body to be always in one place and always surrounded by…

— Richard Jefferies

Is there anything so delicious as the first exploration of a great library - alone - unwatched?

— Richard Jefferies

Almost every labourer has his Sunday suit, very often really good clothes, sometimes glossy black, with the regulation 'chimney pot'. His unfortunate…

— Richard Jefferies

Science, as illustrated by the printing press, the telegraph, the railway, is a double-edged sword. At the same moment that it puts…

— Richard Jefferies

O beautiful human life! Tears come to my eyes as I think of it. So beautiful, so inexpressibly beautiful! The song should…

— Richard Jefferies

Do you always do as you would like to do were it in your power? I find that circumstances force me often…

— Richard Jefferies

Beauty - what is beauty, forsooth? Form and color; that is, surface only. Fortune - what is fortune? Nothing is ever a…

— Richard Jefferies

I must stay under the old tree in the midst of the long grass, the luxury of the leaves, and the song…

— Richard Jefferies

Some, I verily believe, delight to be slave-men; it is a joy to them, and they would not change their condition; not…

— Richard Jefferies

If every plant and flower were found in all places, the charm of locality would not exist. Everything varies, and that gives…

— Richard Jefferies

“The sun has disappeared, and the light there still is, is left in the atmosphere enclosed by the gloomy mist as pools…

— Richard Jefferies